


Nomad: Woman Without A Country

by MamaDonovan



Series: Earth 3491 [3]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Canon Compliant, Don't worry you won't find any White Savior narrative here, F/M, Female Steve Rogers, Genderswap, Infant endangerment, Kidnapping, She doesn't save Wakanda, Wakanda saves her, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:40:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 26,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14825426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaDonovan/pseuds/MamaDonovan
Summary: The Sequel to "The Star-Spangled Gal" continuing the adventures of Stephanie Barnes her everlasting efforts to find a safe life for her family. Covering the events of "Black Panther" and "Infinity War" with some flashbacks to "The Avengers," the end of the "Civil War"  led to Stephanie fleeing with Bucky to Wakanda where they are protected by King T'Challa. Now living as a refugee and international fugitive with a baby son to consider, Stephanie must be extra careful with her choices and must constantly decide between what is safe and what is right. This is only made more difficult as her family's safety is threatened by the regime of a new king, and the looming threat from the stars above.





	1. Back to Work

On a rubble-covered street in eastern Syria, a train of dust-covered vehicles led by a van adorned with the Daesh flag sped past two women in black niqabs. One woman carried a baby across her chest in a blue heavily patterned sling that kept him hidden from view. As the truck went by she instinctively held the child closer to her.

“I’m pretty sure that was them.” The other woman noted and activated her communicator, “Okay Sam, our friendly terrorist shipment is headed your way.”

“Copy that, Romanoff.” Sam Wilson noted, as he whispered to his wrist while out of sight at the Daesh base they were targeting, “Is there any chance I can get some backup here before I try and take ‘em all out?”

Natasha looked at the other woman and huffed, “Really wish you would have asked that before so I could have caught my ride.”

The other woman slipped her baby sling off of her shoulder and handed the baby to Natasha, “Hold him for a second.”

Then she spoke into her own comm, “On my way, Sam.”

The woman ran behind the trail of cars, following the tire skid marks in the sand. As she approached their secret base several blocks away, she kept out of sight of the surrounding guards. She snuck up to one corner as two guards were passing each other, and knocked their heads into one another. Before they fell though, she pushed them against each other to give herself leverage so she could flip over the wired fence. As she landed on the stack of crates on the other side, she could hear ruckus and shooting from inside the concrete building. It looked like their covers were already blown.

She raced to the building, throwing off her niqab disguise and revealing her black tactical catsuit underneath. The gold metal epaulets on her shoulders shined in the hot sun along with the gold circular belt buckle on her waist. Her hair, once gold as well, had dulled to a sandy blonde over the past few months. Not even super soldiers were immune to the stresses of motherhood.

The Nomad jumped on the roof and slipped in through a hole in the ceiling, kicking down the first masked figure she could see. She could tell which one was Sam by the red armband on his disguise. He had already taken half of the terrorists down, but still left plenty for her. She punched the remaining men until she could hear their bones crack. Once the room was quiet, they looked at the prize the terrorists had sought after: missiles powered by leftover Chitauri fuel utilized by scavengers.

Natasha rejoined them, bouncing little Carter up and down as he squealed with tears slipping down his reddened face. He had gotten fussy as soon as he settled in her arms, which was just Nat’s luck.

“Huh, guess my old KGB contacts can still pull through in a pinch.” Natasha said as she handed the baby boy back to his mother, Stephanie Barnes.

“Aww, it’s okay sweetheart.” Stephanie took her son back and put his carrier back across her shoulders, “Maybe for something less dangerous, you can stay with Mama.”

Sam interrupted, “We gotta go before they realize who stabbed them in the back,” He pointed to himself, “Me.”

“First we have to get the Chitauri components stripped and unusable before another splinter cell tries to take a crack at modifying them.” Stephanie ordered. She may not have been Captain America anymore, but her small ragtag team of Secret Avengers still followed her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to call Tony in on this, Steph?” Natasha brought up the usual question, as she did every time they encountered anything technical at all.

Stephanie’s eyes shook. She gave Tony that burner phone over a year ago. Since he was the one who needed to forgive her, it was only right that she let him call first. After all, to ask a favor from a man who for all she knew hated her with every fiber of his being would be...unwise.

“I’m sure he’s got enough on his plate.” Stephanie answered before turning to Sam, “Where’s the chatter take us next?”

“Lebanon.” He answered.

“Alright, let’s keep at it.” Stephanie patted Carter’s head to calm him down as he nuzzled his face into her shoulder, “After all, every little bit helps-”

Suddenly, a small mechanical chirping noise came from Stephanie’s belt, not from her burner phone, but from the metallic beaded bracelet in her side pouch.

“Hold on, I gotta take this.” Stephanie said, as she excused herself to the outside of the concrete hut.

She slipped the bracelet on and held out her open hand to receive the call. A full-colored projection of Shuri, the Princess of Wakanda, appeared in her palm.

 _“Hello, Stephanie! I hope you are not in the middle of something?”_ The cheerful princess greeted.

“Not at all, your highness.” She lightly bowed her head, “In fact, I was just finishing up a job.”

 _“And how’s my little colonizer?”_ Shuri asked playfully.

Stephanie laughed and pulled down the cloth of the carrier, revealing his sleeping face, “You just missed him. He’s all tuckered out from doing such good work on this mission.”

_“I hope his carrier is working out for you. I only tripled the threading of vibranium for it. Not as soft, but the extra shielding is worth it.”_

“That is definitely true, and he loves it all the same. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us.” Stephanie said.

 _“Well, you can thank me a little more when I tell you the good news I have.”_ Shuri shook her fists in excitement, _“Your husband is almost through with his rehabilitation.”_

Stephanie’s voice softened, “...Really?”

_“I just have to recheck for the 15th time, but I have scheduled his release from cryostasis for five days from today. So, if you can make it before-”_

“I’ll be there.” Stephanie answered immediately, barely containing her excitement, “Just tell me when and where to rendezvous.”

 _“I knew you would say that.”_ Shuri replied, _“My brother is going to Busan in South Korea with Nakia and Okoye to pursue an enemy of Wakanda. If you can be there by tonight, I will send you his coordinates and let him know to expect you. Perhaps, you can even be of assistance.”_

“Tell him I’m already on my way.” Stephanie said.

 _“Good luck, Nomad.”_ Shuri said with a wink before she gave the Wakandan salute and disconnected.

As soon as the call ended, Stephanie covered her mouth and leaned against the wall, letting tears of joy fall. She kissed Carter’s head as he slept on her chest. Bucky had been released once when Carter was born, but T’Challa had waited until after her little family had some time together to reveal that this release was only temporary and that Bucky still wasn’t ready yet. They only released him because they knew that the birth of his first child was too precious to miss. Stephanie understood, even though it broke her heart to watch him be put on ice yet again, but at least this time, Bucky could physically see what he had to come back for. It reminded all of them why this treatment was so important in the first place.

For the first three months of Carter’s life, they remained hidden in the caves beneath the palace, close to Shuri’s laboratory. Every day, she brought Carter to see his father, just as she had done while she was pregnant. Their cave was equipped with everything they needed, but soon enough, Stephanie couldn’t handle feeling caged any longer. She didn’t want her son to be kept in a cage either. So after a nice “maternity leave” she contacted Sam and Natasha and went back to doing missions, except this time under their own accords. Princess Shuri was gracious enough to give her new gear and new tech to protect herself and Carter, who usually rode on her back in his protective carrier as she trekked around the world, saving as many people as she could.

But now the time she had been waiting for was upon them. The time to bring her family back together.

Stephanie went back inside and apologized to Sam and Natasha that she couldn’t go with them to Lebanon and had to go to South Korea instead.

“We’ll go with you, then.” Sam insisted.

“No.” Stephanie ordered, “You and Natasha have to take care of things in Lebanon. This is something I have to do on my own.”

“Are you sure about that?” Natasha asked as Stephanie turned to leave.

Stephanie smiled and placed both of her arms on Carter, “Trust me...this is a family matter.”


	2. Old Foes

On the outskirts of Wakanda, the Border tribe went about their daily business breeding and herding their livestock even as their king, T’Challa, stopped by for a visit with the Head of Security and his best friend, W’Kabi. In Wakanda, the king walked not above his people, but among them.

“Is that him?” T’Challa referred to the rhinoceros W’Kabi kept penned outside of his home, “Glory to Bast. Is he still growing?”

“Of course.” W’Kabi said as he fed his prized animal, “I see Nakia is back. You guys going to work it out?”

T’Challa hissed and slid his teeth over his lips, taking a few steps away without giving an answer.

“T’Challa, what’s wrong?” W’Kabi asked.

“Nakia thinks...we should be doing more.” T’Challa said.

“More like what?”

“Foreign aid. Refugee programs.” T’Challa explained.

W’Kabi’s demeanor changed as he switched from speaking as a friend to speaking as the leader of the Border Tribe, “You have already…” He looked around to make sure no one was closely listening, “...You let in one man, and you let in his wife, and then they had a child. Here. In _our_ country.”

“Because of my actions, they had to leave their _own_ country.” T’Challa said to him for the hundredth time.

“And so I made the _exception_ , even though it meant keeping it from the council.” W’Kabi continued, “You let more of the refugees in, and they will bring their problems with them. They will bring their families here, have their children here, and colonize us until Wakanda is just like everywhere else.”

T’Challa heeded his friend’s words. He knew of what could happen, but he also remembered what Nakia said, that Wakanda is strong enough to protect itself and others. She also brought up the child just as W’Kabi did. She said if he could save one child, that he could do the same for millions of children.

“Now if you said you wanted me and my men to go out there and clean up the world, I’d be all for it.” W’Kabi said.

“But waging war on other countries has never been our way.” T’Challa reminded him.

Suddenly, the kimoyo beads on both of their wrists chirped.

“You, too, huh?” T’Challa noticed.

“Bast, we’re in trouble.” W’Kabi groaned as they held out their beads together and the holoprojection of Okoye, the general of the Dora Milaje, appeared before them.

“My king...my love…” She greeted T’Challa and W’Kabi respectively, “You will never guess who just popped up on our radar.”

* * *

  
Okoye and Nakia were glad to accompany T’Challa to Busan and finally get their chance to nab Ulysses Klaue, the South-African based arms dealer who stole vibranium from Wakanda more than 20 years prior. T’Challa and Nakia was also pleased to get the message from Shuri that the Nomad would be joining them. Okoye, however, was not so pleased.

“You told W’Kabi to stay behind but you are inviting this outsider to join us?” Okoye asked.

“We can trust her, Okoye. She aided in the capture of my father’s murderer. She is the best America has to offer.” T’Challa told her.

“That’s not saying much.” Okoye groaned as Nakia parked the car.

Stephanie had made it to the marketplace in Busan before them, and had been casually browsing through the vendors and trying the food until they got there. When Shuri gave her the rendezvous point, she also let her know that they were looking for Klaue in a casino, so Stephanie made sure to dress appropriately. She wore a long red-haired wig with straight bangs across her forehead and kept her dress hidden under a black coat. The obvious giveaway for T’Challa, however, was the baby boy still strapped to her back in his blue carrier. He approached her quietly, waiting for her to notice him.

Stephanie smiled as soon as she saw him and his team, and bowed her head, “Your Majesty, it’s good to see you again.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Stephanie. I see you brought Carter along.” T’Challa said.

“Ubawoo!” Carter said and reached his little hand out towards T’Challa.

“You intend to bring the child into the casino?” Okoye asked.

“That’s won’t be necessary.” Nakia said as she hugged Stephanie, “We can keep him in the car.”  
“Is that safe?” Stephanie asked.

“It wouldn’t be Wakandan if it didn’t have safety features for temperature.” Nakia explained, “He’ll be fine.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Stephanie said as Nakia helped take Carter’s carrier off of her back and placed him in the back of the car, booping his nose as she lay him down.

“You can wait with him. We are just here to grab Klaue and then go.” Okoye said.

“I have to go with you. I’ve dealt with Klaue before, I know how dangerous he is.” Stephanie insisted, taking off her coat to reveal her blue single-strapped evening gown underneath.

Before Okoye could protest, T’Challa raised his hand to stop her and then pulled out a small communicator for Stephanie, “Your help would be greatly appreciated.”

Nakia led them to the casino which was guarded by a vendor selling fish. The little Korean Stephanie knew was from Dr. Cho, but that was in Seoul. She caught that Nakia was trying to introduce the rest of them as her friends from Kenya, Stephanie included. The vendor looked at her skeptically before Nakia humored her enough to let them in. Her employee opened the tarp to lead them down a long hallway of several metal detectors before they could enter the casino from the second floor.

As they looked down, surveying the people below, T’Challa told them, “Spread out. The buyer is likely already here.”

While T’Challa, Nakia and Okoye went left, Stephanie went right, keeping her face stern as she looked for potential hostiles. Over the comm, she could hear the rest of the team.

_“The woman outside, what trouble was she referring to?”_

_“Ah, I got into a disagreement with some ivory traders. Made a bit of a mess.”_

_“And will there be any trouble tonight, Ms. Kenyan Heiress?”_

_“Depends on how quickly we finish the mission.”_

_“Can we please focus? Thank you.”_

Nakia took the bar and ordered a drink while Okoye watched from railings and T’Challa bought in at the tables. Stephanie wasn’t any good at gambling, so she kept circling the hallways, keeping an ear open for anyone dealing with Klaue tonight.

_“Eyes up. Americans.”_ Nakia warned, _“I count three.”_

_“Five. How could you miss Greased Lightning there behind you?”_ Okoye added.

Stephanie looked around and spotted the men they were referring to. Then, she noticed one more, one that make her choke up and freeze where she was standing. T’Challa spotted him too and said,

_“Six. Just spotted an old friend who works for the CIA.”_

For T’Challa, Everett Ross was a friend, but to Stephanie, he was someone to avoid if she valued her freedom. He was the one who oversaw Bucky’s capture and treated him less than humanely. Even when Zemo was discovered as the real culprit and was turned into him, Ross still wasn’t satisfied. He saw to it that Stephanie Barnes was #1 on the CIA’s Most Wanted list.

_“Things just got a little more complicated.”_


	3. Stolen Goods

Stephanie kept her face out of sight by ordering a virgin drink at the bar. Luckily, T’Challa could keep Ross distracted and get information out of him. If he was here to track her down, she’d have to get Carter and escape right away. She listened as T’Challa’s comm picked up their conversation.

“You are buying from Klaue?” T’Challa asked as he dealt his chips.

“What I am doing or not doing on behalf of the U.S government is none of your concern.” Ross answered, “Now whatever you’re up to, do me a favor, and stay out of my way?”

T’Challa asserted, “I gave you Zemo.”

“And didn’t I keep it under wraps that the king of a third world country runs around in a bulletproof catsuit? I’d say we were even. You really need to leave, now.” Ross said.

Stephanie took an ice cube in her hand and squeezed it between her fingers. If T’Challa needed her to take out Ross, all he needed to do was give her the order.

“Klaue is leaving out that door with me.” T’Challa said elegantly, “You’ve been warned.”

So based on what T’Challa was saying, it looked like Ross wasn’t here for her after all. So as long as she didn’t cross his path, she didn’t need to start anything. She became more sure of this when Ross continued.

“Alright, the vibranium from the attack on Sokovia links back to a person that I’m not actually _saying_ I’m here to make a deal with, but that deal will _not_ be called off. When the dust settles, you and me can work something out.”

“I’m not here to make a deal.” T’Challa said.

Their conversation was cut short when the devil they spoke of walked through the door and Nakia reported his entrance along with eight of his men. Okoye reported that she was in position to secure their exit. All Stephanie had to do was wait for orders. Klaue didn’t have a bag or a briefcase with him, so either he had no vibranium on him, or he was wearing it somewhere on his person. Okoye also noted that his men were definitely armed, despite the no weapons policy. Stephanie saw Klaue walk up to Ross and strike up a conversation while rubbing his shoulder, but T’Challa wasn’t close enough to pick up on their conversation.

“Six more men. It’s a set-up.” Nakia said, “We need to move on Klaue.”

“Stand down.” T’Challa ordered, “We can’t afford a shoot out.”

Stephanie would hardly call this crowd innocent, but still, nobody needed to get hurt in all this. But it was also risky in letting Ross take Klaue. If Ross was careless enough to let Zemo sneak in as Bucky’s doctor and take control of his mind, then who knows who might get access to Klaue in that cardboard prison.

“It’s now or never.” Nakia said sternly, but Okoye spat out the king’s orders.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the fighting broke out on Okoye’s side of the balcony. After that, all Hell broke loose as the shots rang out. Stephanie grabbed her drink and stormed over to two of Klaue’s men. She kicked one guy down as the other one drew his gun at her. She threw her drink in his face to distract him and grabbed his gun, kicking him down as well. When the first guy got back up, she smacked his face with the glass, shattering it and getting shards in his eyes. The second guy tried to throw a punch at her, but she elbowed his chest before he could swing, knocking him down for good. She tucked his gun into her dress in case she needed it later.

She spotted Ross shooting at Klaue as he ran up the stairs to escape. T’Challa and the others were fighting off the rest of his goons. If she went after Klaue herself, Ross would definitely see her, but she couldn’t just let him get away. She grabbed the length of her dress and ran up the stairs after Klaue. As she reached the top, T’Challa had leaped up over the balcony to meet her in the same spot just before Klaue reached the door.

“[Murderer!]” T’Challa shouted in his native tongue.

Klaue looked between them and tried to shoot both of them, but his gun clicked empty. So he dropped it and backed away, raising both his arms in the air. Steph remembered that his left arm was chopped off by Ultron, so she hoped the new one was only for cosmetic purposes.

“You know...you look just like your old man...” Klaue smiled at T’Challa as his left arm spread apart revealing the metal weaponry underneath.

Stephanie was about to yell for T’Challa to get down, but then Klaue turned to her and said, “...and you...oh, I hope your boy looks just like you.”

_Carter_. And then she heard the dread whirr from his gun. T’Challa threw forward the podium from behind them, but the blast did more than just disintegrate it. The blowback hurled them back down to the floor of the casino. T’Challa landed on the craps table, while Stephanie landed directly on the carpet. The cash from the tables sprinkled around them.

“I made it rain!” She heard Klaue cackle before he escaped.

“He knows about Carter.” Stephanie said quickly as she picked herself up and ran back up the staircase, this time with Nakia and Okoye beside her, “He knows about Carter!”  
“Do we just leave him?” Nakia asked, referring to T’Challa.

“He’ll catch up.” Okoye said.

But when they got to their car, Stephanie’s worry turned into horror. The backseat door was ripped off. They’d taken Carter. Stephanie covered her mouth, but she didn’t have time to scream. They just had to drive.

Nakia took the wheel while Okoye took shotgun. Stephanie stayed in the back, investigating the seat for any clues, but they left nothing behind.

“Which one is he in now?” Nakia asked, looking ahead at several identical black cars that were speeding in front of them.

“Which one has Carter?” Stephanie asked in a low voice, her eyes red with fury. Then the cars split off at a fork in the road.

“They’re trying to lose us.” Okoye said.

“I’ll take the right.” Nakia said as she accelerated. As they were on their tail, the car in front of them started shooting them with a machine gun from the backseat.

Stephanie moved closer so she could see the occupants inside, “I don’t see Carter, or Klaue.”

“Guns...so primitive.” Okoye snided. Then, Okoye opened her side window.

“What are you doing?” Nakia asked.

“Just drive.” Okoye said, and climbed out to the roof of the car with her spear in her hand. Stephanie moved to climb up to shotgun, but jerked back when the spear shot down from the ceiling. From the top of the car, Okoye was able to see the road ahead of them. She threw the second half of her spear through the windshield of the black car and stopped it in its tracks.

“There he is!” Nakia spotted Klaue in the next car, and stepped on the gas, “Hold tight!”

Their car went over some steep bumps which sent the car in to the air for a second, but brought them closer to Klaue’s car. From there, they could see Klaue crawling out of the window, hanging out from the side, with Carter’s baby sling over his shoulder, its contents squirming inside, close to Klaue’s chest.

“Be careful! He has Carter.” Stephanie said, with a higher shakier voice. But as they got closer, Klaue aimed his arm at them, and fired another blast directly at their car. The hit sent shockwaves throughout the vehicle, tearing it apart. Okoye managed to grab her spear in time to catch the hood and slide to a safe stop. Nakia slid right next to her in what was left of the driver’s seat. Stephanie, unfortunately, caught the brunt of it. She rolled into a ball when she saw the impact coming, but her seat and doors had fallen apart away from her, so she had nothing to grab onto for support. She hit the road rolling, but was forced to unfold, cutting and bruising her arm and legs as she skid to a stop behind the others. Her head was throbbing and her ears were still ringing from the impact. To make matters worse, the last person she needed drove up to Nakia and Okoye.

“Hop in.” She could hear Ross’s voice once the ringing stopped, “Put that spear in the trunk.”

Stephanie tried to roll on her back, but she could feel her collarbone sting as if it was broken. Her limbs were too sore to move too quickly. Her real hair covered her face, but she could see through the strands that Okoye and Nakia were uninjured.

“Aren’t you going to help your friend?” Ross asked, taking a look at Stephanie still sprawled out on the street, but her face obscured enough for him to not recognize her. Nakia looked at her, with a calm glance but worry in her eyes. Stephanie gave the weakest gesture of her head to go on without her. Time was of the essence, and she trusted them to do their part in retrieving Carter and capturing Klaue.

“Forget her.” Nakia said as she took the seat next to Ross, blocking his view of Stephanie, “She’s dead weight. Go.”

Stephanie watched them drive off, and thought of how scared Carter must be. She grunted loudly as she stood back on her feet and forced open a nearby car. She still had time to catch up with them and follow them to Klaue with a stolen car. She knew that T’Challa wanted to take Klaue back to Wakanda dead or alive, but she hoped he would let her chop his other arm off before he did.

* * *

  
With the women out of his way, Klaue only had T’Challa to deal with. Even though Klaue blew up his ride like he had with the others, T’Challa, armed in the new and improved Black Panther suit, was able to run up the shortcut of an alleyway that took him straight to Klaue’s car. He latched on and ripped the front tire off the axel, and the car sped out of control and hit an obstruction that sent it flipping over across a pavilion. T’Challa heard over the comms that Klaue had kidnapped the child, so he watched it crash against the pavement with fear, hoping that the carrier was as protective as Shuri promised.

As T’Challa approached it, he saw Klaue crawl out of the passenger’s seat with his arms wrapped around the baby tucked into the carrier.

“Klaue!” He called out loudly, unsheathing his claws as he marched towards him, “Did you think we would forget?!”

“Stay back now…” Klaue smiled as he cradled the carrier with his flesh arm and aimed the gun from his metallic one, “I have a child.”

When he shot at him this time though, the suit was able to absorb the power of the blast as T’Challa remained standing. Once he was right in front of him, he ripped the weaponized arm right off, but when he pulled the carrier off of his shoulders, he found that it was only filled with packaged ammo and weapons. The child was nowhere to be seen. Klaue cackled when he saw the surprise on T’Challa’s face.

“Look at me, murderer!” T’Challa kicked Klaue into the side of the car, and wrapped his claws around his throat, “Where is the child?!”

“Oh mercy, king! Mercy!” Klaue begged as he noticed the crowd gathering around them.

“Every breath you take is mercy from me.” T’Challa scolded.

“[My king!]” Okoye called out as she caught up to the scene, with Nakia behind her.

“[The world watches.]” Nakia warned him.

As he looked around, he saw the crowd of people with their phones taking pictures and broadcasting this to the world. And then he saw Stephanie pushing through the crowd, her wig long abandoned, her dress in tatters, and her face and limbs bruised and bleeding all over. When she saw the wreckage of the car, she stopped caring about being seen as she feared that her son was inside. She ran to scene, but saw Klaue in T’Challa’s grip and the carrier lying on the ground, with the supplies spilling out of it.

She realized she had fallen for his trick, and her heart fell into despair. Carter was gone, and she had no idea where they had taken him.

“C’mon, guys. Let’s go.” Ross said, as he helped the King and his crew arrest Klaue and stuff him into the back of his car.

“Captain. This is a pleasant surprise.” Ross greeted Stephanie coldly, but she had already left her body when he came up from behind her and slipped enhanced magnetic handcuffs around her wrists, “You’re under arrest.”


	4. Interrogation

T’Challa was going to argue with Ross the moment he saw him stuff Stephanie in the back of the car in cuffs, but Stephanie shook her head at him. Her plan to get out of this would need to be sneakier than picking a fight with Ross, especially with Klaue in the picture. They were kept in separate vehicles since the CIA didn’t know whether Stephanie was working with Klaue or with T’Challa. And as far as she was concerned, the less they knew the better. On the way to the secret CIA base, she kept herself from panicking by framing finding Carter as a mission. That way she could focus. 

As a mother, she wanted to kill Klaue on the spot, but she also knew that if she did that, she’d never find out where Carter was. What she did know was that Klaue was a businessman, which meant that his first idea would be to sell Carter, and not to a new family who wanted to raise him with love and care. He also probably had a buyer waiting, which means they didn’t have much time. Right now, she had two options: try to escape from Ross first and then alert Sam and Natasha so they could look for Carter themselves, or tell Ross about the baby and just maybe he’d utilize CIA resources to find Carter as fast as they found Bucky in Romania. 

Now to anyone else, telling the CIA would be the obvious choice, but Stephanie had serious reservations. Knowing she had a baby wouldn’t stop them from imprisoning her, and then who knows how long it would be before they let her see her son again. Now obviously, Carter’s safety was more important than her freedom, but Stephanie knew that if the US government got their hands on the son of two super soldiers, he’d be raised as a weapon instead of a child. So Carter’s options were between legal human experimentation and illegal human experimentation. It was enough to make break out of her concentration and finally cry. She also realized that they’d arrived at the base a few minutes ago and now she was tied to a chair in the middle of the control room on the outside of the interrogation room.

“Sorry you have to wait your turn. We only have one room, and we weren’t expecting you. Two fugitives on one mission, I might’ve just earned myself a promotion.” Ross joked, but she just coldly glared at him with her wet eyes. 

She had to turn her head as far back as she could to see the Wakandans looking at the two-way mirror. Okoye and Nakia knew the drill. They had to pretend they weren’t associated with her or else Ross would ask questions. It was T’Challa who was having trouble not looking at her sympathetically. At least she knew that he was her ticket out of these cuffs, but she wanted to wait until the moment was right. Right now, the priority was interrogating Klaue, who at the moment was laughing and making kissing noises through the two-way mirror, saying he could see them. 

“So this is a big mess, huh?” Ross told T’Challa, “I figured we could go ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’? I’ll talk to him first and then you guys go in-” 

Then Okoye started speaking to T’Challa in Xhosa, which made Ross go silent. That much gave Stephanie a small smile. T’Challa responded to her first and then told Ross, “After your questioning, we will take him back to Wakanda with us.” 

Stephanie liked that plan. That way, she and T’Challa could find Carter without CIA interference, and Ross would never get to know that Carter existed. 

“What? No, look…” Ross argued, “I like you a lot, but he’s in my custody now. He’s not going anywhere. Listen, I’m doing you guys a favor by even letting you be in here.” 

Stephanie could hear the soft slap that Ross gave to T’Challa’s shoulder, and she knew that he was in for it. She couldn’t understand what Okoye told Ross, but she could tell it was threatening. 

“Does she speak English?” Ross asked. 

“When she wants to.” Okoye answered.

“Huh...I’m going in, and when I’m done? You guys are up.” Ross said as he headed for the door. 

“Agent Ross,” T’Challa said and put a hand on his shoulder, “I do appreciate your help in Busan.” 

“See now?” Ross said, “It’s called diplomacy. You’re welcome. Also, try to make sure that one back there doesn’t escape.” 

As Ross opened the door, they could hear Klaue singing, “~What is love, baby don’t hurt me~” 

Stephanie pulled hard on her magnetic cuffs, but to no avail. She knew he was taunting her most of all. 

“Okoye…” T’Challa said as he walked over to Stephanie to discreetly demagnetize her cuffs. She quietly mouthed a thank you, but kept her wrists behind the chair to keep the impression she was still restrained, “...Play nice.” 

“Bah, Americans.” Okoye scoffed. 

Once Ross closed the door, and Stephanie could hear what was going on inside, she realized that T’Challa had secretly planted a comm on Ross. So now they could all hear what was going on inside. 

“You know you really shouldn’t trust the Wakandans. I’m much more your speed.” Klaue said. 

“I don’t trust anybody. Not in this job.” Ross said, “What I am interested in is that arm cannon out there. Where’d you get that?” 

“It’s an old mining tool that I made some adjustments to, but I can get you one if you like.” Klaue said. 

“Why don’t you give me the name of your supplier and I’ll ask them?” Ross asked. 

“He’s right outside, why don’t you ask him yourself?” Klaue replied. 

“What, T’Challa? You’re telling me that weapon on your arm is from Wakanda?” Ross asked back in disbelief. So it looked like Ross didn’t know as much as he thought he did. 

“Bingo.” Klaue said, “What do you actually know about Wakanda?” 

“Um...” Ross thought about it, “...shepherds, textiles, cool outfits.” 

“It’s all a front. Explorers searched for it for centuries. El Dorado, the golden city. They thought they could find it in South America, but it was in Africa the whole time. Technological marvel, all because it was built on a mound of the most valuable metal known to man. Isipho, they call it. The gift. Vibranium.” Klaue said. 

“Vibranium, yeah, strongest metal on earth.” Ross followed. 

“It’s not just a weapon, they sew it into their clothes. It powers their city, their tech...their weapons.” Klaue nodded.

“Weapons?” 

“Yeah, makes my arm cannon look like a leaf blower.” 

“Well that’s a nice fairytale, but Wakanda is a third world country and you stole all their vibranium.” Ross said. 

Klaue cackled madly and forced his chair forward, “All of it?! I took a tiny piece of it. They have a mountain full of it. They’ve been mining it for thousands of years and they still haven’t scratched the surface. I’m the only outsider who’s seen it and got out alive...or at least I was until…” 

Stephanie’s head perked up, and her pulse jumped. 

“Until what?” Ross asked. 

“Well...not too long ago...I heard a rumor of a white baby that was born in Wakanda, under the king’s protection. Now it got to me because the rumors were guessing it was mine, and I know it couldn’t be true, because I haven’t been to Wakanda in decades, so that must mean some other outsider was let in, recently. Now, usually, I tell myself that human life is not a growth market, but still I wanted to meet this child considering we have this much in common.” 

Stephanie stood out of her chair and marched to the mirror, heaving as she watched Klaue with burning eyes. Nakia and T’Challa took care of the agents who approached her before they could apprehend her. 

“Sometimes a rumor is just a rumor.” Ross said. 

“You see, I thought that too until tonight when I got to meet the little bugger for myself! And then I realized what was so special about him that Wakanda would want him for themselves.” Klaue smiled wickedly, “And I think you would, too.” 

“What’s so special about this kid?” Ross asked. 

Stephanie rushed to open the door but T’Challa grabbed her hand. 

“He can’t know about him…” Stephanie pleaded with him quietly. 

“He can help us.” T’Challa told her. Her wet eyes welled up some more, and all she could do was pray that Carter was safe right now. 

“The boy is one of your super soldiers. Not the half-assed ones you made in a lab, but born from the one true real deal. The one you have tied up right now who is probably crying ‘Oh my baabbbyy, ooooohhhh my baabbyyyyyyy!’” Klaue mocked her as he cackled wildly, wriggling around in his seat. 

And then Stephanie lost it. Her face turned to stone as she turned around and walked five paces away from the window. T’Challa thought she was trying to leave, but to his surprise, she spun around on her heel and charged for the window, shattering the mirror as she leaped through arms first. While still in the air, she grabbed Klaue by his collar and knocked him down with her as she straddled him and knocked his head against the cement as his laughter grew into a holler. 

“Where is my baby, Klaue?!” She yelled. He just continued laughing up a storm. She drew up her fist and planted it into his face, “Tell me where my baby is! _Now!_ ” 

Ross jumped back out of his seat and ran out of the room to get some backup. T’Challa and Okoye ran in to pull Stephanie off of him. They wanted to settle this in Wakanda, but Stephanie couldn’t wait that long. 

“Who are you selling him to?!” She screamed, “You can’t get paid if I kill you. _Tell me!_ ” 

With all the commotion, they missed Nakia’s warning that something was wrong. Suddenly, an explosion went off and the wall of the interrogation room blew in. A man in an elaborate African mask jumped in and fired rounds from a machine gun into the room and the control room outside. T’Challa covered Stephanie as he hovered over her, and she watched his Black Panther suit form over his body as it seemed to appear out of thin air. His suit glowed in bursts of purple energy as the bullets hit him. She used this time to crawl back into the control room and grab a gun off of a fallen agent and shoot at the masked man while some extra men were carrying Klaue away. Before she could rush to go after them, the masked man threw a grenade at them before escaping out the hole in the wall. T’Challa jumped on the grenade while Stephanie went after the shooters as they tried to escape. She didn’t have her Nomad suit on, and she was still banged up from the car wreck, but she couldn’t let them get away without a fight. 

She ran out and saw the masked man still firing with his machine gun. She evaded his bullets, until she caught a sight from his getaway truck. A woman in tactical gear sitting in the back of the truck cradling a baby. It was Carter, and the loud gunfire was making him cry. Time slowed down as she pulled her gun on the masked man at the same time he aimed his at her. They both fired, but she was hit before she could see if her shot had landed. The hit made her drop her gun, but she was still on her feet, so she ran towards the truck, trying to dodge his fire. The toll her body had already taken made her slower than usual, so another shot hit her shoulder, and then another one hit her stomach. She fell to the ground with an outstretched arm and her gaze focused on Carter. 

Before he could get a killing shot on her, his attention was drawn away by Black Panther, who was now charging towards him and was impervious to his bullets. When he leaped at him, the masked man shot another blast from the same gun which was powerful enough to knock Black Panther back into the wall. As Stephanie was bleeding out, her vision grew blurry and her body finally gave up and lost consciousness. 

T’Challa had to pick her up and carry her back inside where Agent Ross had also been critically injured in the spine when he shielded Nakia. As T’Challa assessed the damage on both of his friends, he asked for some Kimoyo beads, one for Ross’s spine and two for Stephanie’s chest and stomach. To save his friends, search for Carter, and finish their mission, it was time for them to return to Wakanda.


	5. Returning Home

Once Klaue’s getaway van made a clean escape from the authorities, Klaue settled in the back and took the screaming baby from Linda, the only female member of this crew. He wrapped his greasy sweat-covered arm around Carter which stained the light blue fabric of his onesie. He bounced the baby up and down to try and calm his crying.

“Hello, little one!” He put on a scratchy silly voice, “Aren’t you just _precious_?”

His associate took off his African mask and sat next to his partner Linda.

“I thought you said human life wasn’t a growth market.” His associate, Erik Killmonger, said, crossing his arms as watched Klaue, “So you’re selling babies now?”

“I’m making an exception for this little guy.” Klaue said, still using the baby voice, “This more than just selling 12-year-olds to massage parlors in Houston, because you’re a super soldier, aren’t you?”

Klaue jostled him playfully until he calmed down, “You’re gonna make me so much money!”

When they reached the junkyard that hid Klaue’s plane, Linda took the baby back into her arms as everyone got out of the truck. Erik looked at the child curiously.

“Who are you selling that baby to?” Erik asked.

“To the highest bidder. The auction’s still heating up right now.” Klaue said as he checked his phone, the offers pinging in higher and higher into the hundreds of millions.

Erik shifted his jaw in distaste. He was all for giving colonizers a taste of their own medicine, but he wasn’t for kidnapping their children and selling them for a profit. That wasn’t the way to take back the world.

“Don’t worry, when I get back to Jo-burg, lay low for a bit, I’ll make sure both you guys get compensated for babysitting. You will want for nothing.” Klaue said, booping Carter’s nose.

“Oh, I ain’t worried about the money, bro. I know you good for it.” Erik said, “On the way back, just drop us off in Wakanda.”

“You don’t want to go there, boy.” Klaue said.

“Yeah, I do.” Erik pulled out his gun and shot their last partner on the spot, and aimed for Klaue next, but Klaue grabbed Linda while she was holding a crying Carter and used them both as a shield.

“Drop it!” Klaue ordered, as he wrapped his only arm around Linda’s to point a gun at her head, “Or your little Bonnie and Clyde routine ends today! Put your gun down now!”  
“I’m sorry...I’m sorry, Erik.” Linda stuttered, as she held the baby closer to her chest.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Erik said quietly, but after a few seconds of silence, he shot Linda to get to Klaue. Her body fell, and Carter’s fall was cushioned by her until Klaue snatched him up and ran through the maze of the junkyard, avoiding Erik’s flurry of bullets. He couldn’t shoot and hold Carter at the same time, so he ran behind the wreckage of an old plane and set the baby down carefully in the gravel. Carter curled his feet in and kicked around, screaming with a red face.

Klaue looked over to see Erik coming their way from the window of the plane, so he shot at him, but missed. Now Erik saw exactly where he was, and fired a hit right to his stomach. Klaue felt it immediately and fell back groaning, with Erik coming closer. He dropped his gun and grabbed his prize by his onesie, holding him in his lap.

“You...You really want to go to Wakanda? They’re savages.” Klaw hissed and pointed to the scar on his neck, “This is what they do to people like us.”

“I ain’t worried about no brand. Check these out.” Erik pulled up his sleeve, revealing a network of raised scars along his skin, “Each one is for a kill.”

“You can scar yourself as much as you like. To them, you’ll just be an outsider.” Klaue shifted around painfully, grunting, “You’re crazy to think you can just walk in there.”

Erik pulled down his lower lip, revealing his glowing blue War Dog tattoo, the mark of a Wakandan.

Klaue looked genuinely surprised, “Ah...and to think I saw you as some crazy American…” He chuckled, “Looks like you and this boy have more in common than you think.”

Klaue lowered his finger to Carter’s face. As the baby struggled in his grip, he pulled the boy’s lip down to reveal a similar tattoo, but in green, spelling “Refugee” in the Wakandan alphabet. Erik’s face dropped in shock. He was left behind in Oakland as a child by the Wakandan family he never knew, but this boy...who was truly an outsider...was allowed in. There had to be more to this kid’s story than Klaue let on, but Erik didn’t need him to find out. As Klaue laughed in amusement, Erik took one last shot.

* * *

  
W’Kabi and his men saw a figure approaching from the distance. Erik dragged a body bag with one hand, and a sleeping infant in the other. W’Kabi recognized the child, but he did not walk towards the man. Once Erik got close enough, he dropped the body bag at W’Kabi’s feet.

“What is this?” W’Kabi asked.

  
“Just a little gift.” Erik said. The other guards opened the bag to find Klaue’s body inside.

“And I think this little man belongs to ya’ll.” Erik handed Carter to W’Kabi personally.

“[Who are you?]” W’Kabi asked in Xhosa as he looked down at the boy and then back at the man.

* * *

  
Stephanie’s eyes fluttered open as she woke up on Shuri’s laboratory table. Her tattered dress had been removed and replaced with a Wakandan tunic. She sat up and recognized the room around her. She dropped down from the levitating table and looked around for Shuri or T’Challa, or anyone in particular. She had to tell them what she saw, the van, the people who took Carter, everything. She turned the corner and saw Shuri talking to another man wearing the same medical tunic as her, Everett Ross.

By instinct, she turned and hid behind the staircase, but then she remembered where she was. She had asylum in Wakanda, and Shuri’s laboratory especially was her sanctuary. She turned back in stride and approached the two.

“What is he doing here?” Stephanie asked harshly, but then calmed her tone, “Respectfully, Princess.”

“Relax, Stephanie.” Shuri assured her as she held Everett back with her arm, “He is not here to arrest you. You were both critically injured in Busan. T’Challa decided to save you both.”

“You and I need to talk, Captain.” Ross walked around Shuri’s arm and towards Stephanie.

“I’m not a Captain, and I don’t have to say anything to you.” Stephanie tried to walk away.

“If you value your child’s safety, you will.” Ross said, following her.

“Don’t you say _anything_ about my child!” Stephanie turned back and threw a finger in his face.

“I can help you find him.” Ross insisted.

“I’ve seen what your ‘help’ looks like, Ross.” Stephanie pushed back, “I don’t need you to do to my son what you did to Bucky.”

“Look, we were going on the evidence that we had at the time, which was his face in the footage leaving the scene of the explosion.” Ross explained, “You can’t blame us for apprehending our number one suspect at the time. It’s protocol.”

“And was denying him his right to an attorney a part of the protocol?” Stephanie said.

“Alright! That’s enough!” Shuri rushed in between the two to break it up, “Jeez! You Americans and your yelling! We will settle this when my brother comes back.”

Then, Shuri’s beads rang and she hushed them both to answer it.

“Where is T’Challa? His Kimoyo beads have been switched off.” Okoye asked as she appeared on the projection over Shuri’s wrist.

“Well we are not joined at the hip, Okoye.” Shuri responded.

“A man showed up at the border who claims to have killed Klaue and has brought back the stolen child.” Okoye explained.

Stephanie heaved a giant sigh of relief and walked behind Shuri to listen to Okoye’s message more closely.

“What?” Shuri asked, in both relief and confusion.

“W’Kabi is transporting them as we speak to the palace. We need to find your brother.” Okoye said demandingly. Shuri took the information that Okoye sent over the bead and projected onto her working desk. Their unexpected guest appeared on the holoscreen.

“An outsider?” Shuri asked.

“No, a Wakandan.” Okoye said.

“That’s him.” Stephanie said quickly, “He shot me and he took Carter.”

“He’s not Wakandan.” Ross added, shaking his head, “He’s one of ours.”


	6. The Throne

Stephanie changed into a casual Wakandan dress while Shuri called T’Challa to the lab. For as long as Ross was hanging around, she couldn’t let him see her Nomad uniform. She also couldn’t visit Bucky’s chamber without him following her. Even if he couldn’t arrest her here, he’d know what to look for the minute she left the country.

All those worries left her mind the second she saw Nakia and T’Challa walk down the spiral staircase with Carter sleeping soundly in his sling wrap. She ran to them, immediately breaking out in sobs.

“Thank God…” She gasped as she clutched Carter tightly and kissed his forehead while he was still attached to T’Challa.

“Glory to Bast, he’s unharmed.” T’Challa transferred the carrier from his shoulder to Stephanie’s.

“I’m never taking my eyes off you again.” She cried as she pressed her forehead on his, waking him up. The baby weakly opened his eyes and rubbed his face, like he was oblivious to the danger he was in. Now that he was here in her arms, she could admit how scared she was that she would never see him again. He must have been so hungry, since she didn’t know if anyone had fed him in the day and half he’d been missing.

Shuri also walked over to Carter, cooing over him, “He’s gotten so big since last time! He must be so heavy to carry.”

“Well, not for me he isn’t.” Stephanie finally smiled.

“Can he walk yet?” Shuri asked.

“Not yet, but he’s been trying.” Stephanie answered, wiping the tears from her eyes.

As Stephanie looked at T’Challa, she saw him inspecting the hologram of Erik Killmonger that Shuri had pulled up. Even though she was beyond elated to have Carter back, she knew that their job wasn’t over. Ross had been standing by the projection the whole time, watching their tender moment, but still waiting to explain what he knew.

Stephanie gestured for all of them to go back to their business as she sat down near the lab table to feed Carter in peace while still being within earshot.

“Erik Stevens…” Ross began, “Graduated Annapolis age 19, MIT for grad school. Joined the SEALS and went straight to Afghanistan where he wrapped up confirmed kills like it was a video game. Started calling him Killmonger. He joined a JSOC ghost unit. Now these guys are serious, they will drop off the grid so they can commit assassinations and take down governments.”

To Stephanie, it sounded like Killmonger signed up to do all the things that Bucky was forced to do. The only reason the CIA wanted Bucky dead was because he was doing all that for Hydra instead of for them.

“Did he reveal anything about his identity?” T’Challa asked.

“He has a War Dog tattoo, but we have no record of him.” Shuri explained.

“Is that like the tattoo that you gave Carter?” Stephanie asked.

“Not quite.” Nakia answered, “The War Dog tattoo is for Wakandans who leave the borders for espionage and diplomacy. The one for your son is only for...unique situations.”

“If he saw Carter’s tattoo, that means he knows Carter is from Wakanda.” Stephanie spoke in her Captain voice even as her dress was pulled down to nurse Carter, “So he knew where to return him.”

“That still doesn’t explain _why_ he did, though.” Ross said, earning him a burning glare.

“I will bring him before the council.” T’Challa said, “He will explain himself to us.”

Stephanie would have asked to go with him and Shuri, but she knew she had no place in the throne room. Not even the Queen Mother knew she was here, and she wouldn’t have to. In just a couple of days, Bucky would be unfrozen and they could run off together as a whole family. Nakia went with them as well, since she also had duties to attend to.

That left Stephanie and Ross alone in the lab, with only a holographic view of the throne room from Shuri’s security feeds.

“I guess it’s a little late, but...Congratulations.” Ross said, trying to break the silence with something genuine.

Stephanie focused on the screen and didn’t look at him, but she responded politely, “Thank you.”

He took a seat at a separate lab table, distant from hers. More silence passed as they watched T’Challa take a seat on the throne.

“How old is he now? 12 months? 14 months?” Ross asked. Stephanie didn’t answer.

“Just to put it out there, there is a window on how long he has to obtain his U.S citizenship. If he gets too old-” Ross said.

“Stop.” Stephanie shook her head at him, “Just stop.”

“I’m just concerned.” Ross asserted, “Because if I heard correctly, your son was born here in Wakanda, and since there’s no US embassy _in_ Wakanda, then-”

“I told you to _stop_.” Stephanie spoke over him sternly.

They both turned their attention to the screen once Killmonger was brought before the King and the council.

* * *

  
W’Kabi held onto Killmonger’s arm as he presented him to King T’Challa. The council looked at him with stoic faces, curious to find out the man’s connection to Wakanda. T’Challa himself, however, had discovered the truth from Zuri, his adviser and the royal shaman.

_“Tetha.”_ T’Challa said.

“Speak.” W’Kabi translated, but Killmonger didn’t need one to understand.

“I’m standing in your house, serving justice to a man who stole your vibranium and murdered your people. Justice your king couldn’t deliver.” Killmonger said proudly.

T’Challa stood to approach him, with his Dora Milaje coming in to back him up in case he needed to strike. If this man only came to disrespect him, he would not find a chance to leave.

“I don’t care that you brought Klaue.” T’Challa stood chest to chest and whispered, “And though someone is very grateful for what you returned, the only reason I don’t kill you where you stand is because I know who you are. Now what do you want?”

Killmonger announced to the whole room, “I want the throne.”

The council of elders laughed at his outrageous request, but Killmonger remained unfazed.

“Y’all sitting up here comfortable.” He looked past T’Challa, “Must feel good. It’s about two billion people all over the world who looks like us, but their lives are a lot harder. Wakanda has the tools to liberate them all.”

“And what tools are those?” T’Challa asked, gauging how much he knew.

“Vibranium. Your weapons.” Killmonger answered.

“Our weapons will not be used to wage war on the world. It is not our way to be judge, jury, and executioner for people who are not our own.” T’Challa explained.

  
“Not your own?” Killmonger asked with a knowing side smile, “So why did I find a baby white as snow with a Wakandan tattoo on his lip? Was he your own? You telling me that you got a white honey on the side sneaking into this country?”

The council was perturbed by the accusations, and chattered amongst themselves. From the lab, Stephanie’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth. The Queen Mother was especially offended.

“Son, do not let this charlatan brings lies to your throne! Reject his request.” Queen Ramonda commanded.

“Oh, I ain’t requesting nothing, and I ain’t lying either. If he ain’t yours, then why did your guard take the kid away? I’ll gladly take him with back with me if he doesn’t belong here. Kind of grew fond of the little homie on the way here. You don’t meet a white boy who can speak Xhosa everyday.” Killmonger continued.

“Guards!” Queen Ramonda exclaimed.

“Go ahead, ask me who I am.” Killmonger said.

“You’re Erik Stevens.” Shuri spoke up as she walked closer to the center, “An American black operative, a mercenary named Killmonger. That’s who you are.”

“That’s not my name, Princess.” He said back and then looked at T’Challa, “Ask me, King.”

“No.” T’Challa asserted.

He told him again, “Ask me.”

T’Challa walked away from him and dismissed him, ordering the guards “Take him away.”

Before the guards could grab him, the elder from the River tribe fulfilled Killmonger’s request and asked loudly, _“Ungubani?!”_

_“Ndingu N’Jadaka!”_ Killmonger announced, which made the guards back away from him, “[The son of N’Jobu!]”

T’Challa heaved a heavy breath at the truth being revealed, and the elders were more disturbed than before. This man was indeed the son of his uncle, his cousin, and therefore a member of the Wakandan royal family.

“I found my daddy with panther claws in his chest! You ain’t the son of a king, you a son of a murderer!” Killmonger yelled while T’Challa kept his back turned, “You turn your back on your own people, but you let a white boy in!”

“[You are lying!]” Queen Ramonda shouted, “Lies!”

“I’m afraid not, Queen Mother.” W’Kabi stopped her and held up the ring of N’Jobu as proof. He gave it to her as proof as the council took the evidence to heart.

“And what of this child he speaks of?” Ramonda asked W’Kabi.

W’Kabi only closed his eyes and lowered his head, indicating that he knew that was the truth as well. The Queen went silent, but the council gasped and grew restless.

“I’m exercising my blood right to challenge for the mantles of King AND Black Panther!” Killmonger proclaimed.

Ramonda marched over to her son. Even if both her husband and her son had lied to her, she still had a duty to protect what was hers.

“Do not do this, T’Challa.” She pleaded with him.

“As the son of Prince N’Jobu, he is within his rights.” The elder of the Border Tribe told her.

“He has no rights here!” She exclaimed in disgust.

“The challenge will take weeks to prepare!” The elder of the River tribe said.

“Weeks? I don’t need weeks.” Killmonger said, “The whole country ain’t gotta be there. I just need him, somebody to get me out of these chains, and the outsiders he’s been hiding.”

In the lab, Stephanie’s heart sank as it hit her that her secret was out, to the council at least. She rubbed her forehead. T’Challa was the King, but if he lost the trust of his council because of her, she would never forgive herself. If she had to reveal herself to the council, she would, but she hoped they didn’t banish her before she got what she came here for.

“T’Challa…” the queen mother asked, “What do you know of this?”

T’Challa sat back on his throne and held N’Jobu’s ring between his fingers.

“I accept your challenge.”


	7. The Challenge

T’Challa returned to the lab to retrieve Stephanie and Carter before heading to the waterfall area for the challenge.

“Do you really have to fulfill his request? You’re still the King, you can refuse to take us before the council.” Stephanie said, standing close to T’Challa and away from Ross, who minding his own business for now.

“Oo-Obawoo…” Carter patted T’Challa’s arm with his soft chunky hand.

T’Challa sighed, “Winning the challenge will deal with Killmonger himself, but...the truths he speaks I fear will shake the council’s trust in me. I must restore that trust. I will explain it to them so they see the reasons behind my actions.”

“How much…” Stephanie stood close to his ear to keep out of Ross’s earshot, “How much of the truth?”

“As much as they need to hear.” T’Challa patted Carter’s head which made the boy giggle, “Don’t worry. I promised to keep your family safe, and I will not betray that.”

Stephanie breathed in heavily and wrapped her arms around Carter strapped to her chest, “Alright, Carter. Time to meet the people in charge.”

* * *

 

Stephanie followed behind T’Challa as he led her through the pathways in the mountains. The light at the end of the tunnel opened up to a beautiful cascading waterfall that pooled around flat edge where the royal family and tribe of elders awaited the challenge. As soon as Stephanie came into the light, the council immediately turned their eyes to her in shock.

“Captain America...She _is_ Captain America…” She heard among the loud mumbling. She didn’t realize that name had any importance in this country, and she didn’t know if that was a good thing or not that they recognized her. She kept her head straight and avoided looking any of them in the eye as she waded through the water.

“Nah, nah, are you for real?” The challenger, Erik Killmonger, exclaimed as he saw her holding Carter, “Mmm, Captain America, falls from grace and thinks she can take refuge in any damn country she wants.”

T’Challa wanted to point out the hypocrisy, but it was not worth words. She was here for the elders and the Queen Mother, not for him.

“T’Challa...explain this.” His mother demanded as T’Challa pulled her towards the center. Stephanie hadn’t felt like such a carnival attraction since her USO days.  
“This woman...as many of you know, is Stephanie Rogers Barnes, formerly known as Captain America. When my father was murdered, I vowed to hunt the killer myself. I set my eyes on the wrong man, this woman’s husband.” T’Challa put a hand on Stephanie’s back as he presented her to the elders, “I let my pain consume me and would not let anyone get in my way, especially her. She defended her husband, a victim who was framed by the real killer, Colonel Helmut Zemo. If she had not opposed me and led me to the truth, I would have killed an innocent man, and the true murderer would have gotten away with the murder of the King.”

He looked back at Stephanie with apologetic eyes, “To avenge my father, and save her beloved...she sacrificed everything. Her friends, her home, even her freedom. To repay her, I offered her sanctuary within the palace walls until it is safe for her to return to her country.”

One of the elders exclaimed something loudly that Stephanie couldn’t understand until he uttered clearly, “The child! The _child!”_

“T’Challa, you are noble in your efforts to protect your...friend…” Queen Ramonda conceded, but she was also as concerned as the rest of the council about the bigger question, “...but is that child truly a Wakandan? Does this woman’s son belong to you?”

Stephanie wanted to deny it immediately but T’Challa shook his head at her to let him continue.

“This woman was already with child when I offered her my help. One look at the child and you would see there is not a drop of Wakandan blood in him. However, he was born within the palace, but since both of his parents are outsiders, he is not the citizen of this country or the land of his parents. The tattoo on his lip is merely to indicate that he is protected under the care of the King.”

The council discussed among themselves and seemed less disturbed than earlier, relieved even. While they were still shocked at the revelation of outsiders being kept in the palace, they were satisfied that this boy was not the King’s firstborn son. They were already barely accepting Killmonger’s claim to royalty, but if Carter had technically been a Prince of Wakanda, there would have been outright madness.

“Are we done?” Killmonger asked, “Can we get this thing over with now?”

Ramonda gestured for T’Challa to bring Stephanie to her side so that she could keep a proper eye on her.

“Your Majesty…” Stephanie nodded her head, “It’s an honor.”

“Let me see the child.” Queen Ramonda demanded immediately. Stephanie pulled the fabric aside and showed off Carter’s smiling face to her. Ramonda clutched her chest and heaved a sigh of relief. Shuri hid a smile, imagining the chaos in her head if Carter wasn’t as white as he was.

The royal shaman, Zuri, prepared T’Challa for the challenge by decorating his face with ritualistic paint. Killmonger took the spear he was given for the duel and kicked the wooden staff in half, giving him a shorter weapon.

“He’ll never beat T’Challa. He should have just come to the first challenge and gotten it over with.” Shuri bragged as she stood on the opposite side of the Queen.

“The King will now have the strength of the Black Panther stripped away.” Zuri announced as T’Challa drank an elixir, which scoured through his veins, and he grunted as it visibly sucked the strength of his body as the crowd popped their shoulders and chests to the beat of the drums. Stephanie observed and recognized that she was witnessing something truly sacred to this country, and realized just how fortunate she was to be standing there with them.

Once T’Challa composed himself, he looked at Killmonger, “This is your last chance. Throw down your weapons and we can handle this another way.”

“By keeping me as a pet like Cap?” Killmonger aggressively stuck both halves of the spear into the rocks and paced through the water, undressing, “I lived my entire life waiting for this moment. I trained. I lied. I killed. Just to get here. I killed in America. Afghanistan. Iraq. I took life from my own brothas and sistas right here on this continent!”

He grabbed his weapons out of the water and pointed them at T’Challa, “And all this death...just so I could kill you.”

After a reassuring look from T’Challa, Zuri announced, “Let the challenge...begin.”

Killmonger charged at T’Challa first, attacking with dual blades, while T’Challa defended himself with a spear and shield. Each strike was evenly matched and blocked with the shield. However, Killmonger did not hesitate in his attack, which showed that whoever this man was, he more willpower inside him than they expected.

T’Challa knocked Killmonger down, commanding him to yield, but he got right back up and stood his ground. T’Challa gave a hard strike and caught Killmonger’s cheek, drawing blood, but the man wiped his face and quickly went for T’Challa’s sides until he was open to kick him in the abdomen and into the water. As T’Challa stood back up, Killmonger sliced against his leg, and swung at him. T’Challa defended himself behind the shield, but lowered his stance.

“Snap out of it, T’Challa!” Shuri encouraged her brother.

But Killmonger had the upper hand, and with a swift move, he sliced T’Challa across the stomach, and then his arm. Stephanie’s body seized in fear. Could T’Challa actually lose this fight? He was one of the best fighters she’d ever encountered in her life, and even without his super strength, he was quick and extremely agile. When they fought, she had never defeated him, only held her own against him until she could escape.

Then, Killmonger stabbed T’Challa with the head of the spear. The Queen gasped in horror and Shuri shut her eyes. He had T’Challa down on his knees, and punched him until his body hovered over the water.

“This is for my father!” Killmonger declared, about to strike the final blow, but Zuri interfered, stopping his blade with his staff.

“Zuri, no…” T’Challa panted, but Zuri ordered Killmonger to stop as he knocked the blade out of his hand.

“Zuri, don’t!” Both the Queen and Okoye protested, but Zuri continued.

“I am the cause of your father’s death. Not him.” He confessed, “Take me.”

Killmonger’s face changed to one of total betrayal, and he exclaimed through gritted teeth, “I’ll take you both, Uncle James.”

He stabbed Zuri in the abdomen, and the blood seeped out onto his robe. T’Challa cried out in horror and disbelief, ignoring his own wounds and crawling to Zuri. The queen was in tears. Stephanie covered her mouth in shock. T’Challa, in his fury, tried to strike at Killmonger but was too wounded to land a hit.

“Is this your king?! Huh?!” Killmonger taunted the royal family and the council of elders, “Is this your king?”

Stephanie looked to W’Kabi and Okoye, each of whom were standing stoically in their places. T’Challa was their friend, but even they would not stop with the duel. She had respected that she was in no place to interfere, but with this atrocity playing out before her, she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Killmonger had already broken the rules and spit on tradition, so she might as well try for the sake of her friend.

“That’s enough!” Stephanie cried out, but as she tried to step forward, one of the Dora Milaje grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back on the rocks, knocking her down on her behind. She squinted from the sudden move and opened her eyes to see the tip of a spear resting on her cheek.

“The Black Panther.” Killmonger kicked and punched T’Challa while he was down, “Whose supposed to lead you into the future!”

“C’mon, brother!” Shuri cried out in tears, as she squeezed her mother’s hands.

“Him?” Killmonger continued, “He’s supposed to protect you?!”

Stephanie looked and saw the faces of all the Dora Milaje and the elders, most of whom were barely containing their grief. They didn’t want to lose T’Challa either, but they respected the traditions that gave them order, even if it meant accepting his death.

As T’Challa stood up one last time, Killmonger picked him up over his shoulders and walked to the edge of the waterfall.

“No…” The Queen whimpered. Stephanie pulled against the guard restraining her, but got pulled back harder. Tears filled her eyes as she felt so powerless.

Killmonger threw T’Challa over the waterfall. The queen emitted a shrill cry of sorrow and squeezed Shuri tightly.

“Nah...I’m your king.” Killmonger declared.

Stephanie squeezed Carter tightly in shock, and the baby began to cry, sensing the grief in the air. Her face fell flat as she realized she didn’t know what was going to happen to her, or her family, or the whole country. Nakia snuck the Queen Mother and the Princess out of the scene, but Stephanie was too surrounded by Dora Milaje for her to get her too.

Once the talon necklace of the Black Panther was bestowed onto Killmonger’s neck, the Dora Milaje saluted him.

“Bring the outsiders to me.” He gave his first order. Two of the guards each grabbed Stephanie by an arm and dragged her kicking and screaming to their new king. She didn’t fear for herself, but she had no idea what Killmonger had in mind for Carter, and God help her if he found out about Bucky.

“Mhm, Captain America, the ‘perfect’ woman, not so tough without your shield, are ya?” Killmonger boasted and held up her chin with his blade, “But I gotta admit, without all the stars and stripes shit, you actually fine as hell.”

Stephanie stopped her tears as she stared him down. He may have technically won the throne to this country, but she didn’t see a king here. She only saw the eyes of a tyrant.

“When Klaue said that he found himself a super soldier baby, I would have never dreamed he was talking about you. Now it all makes sense.” Killmonger smiled and asked, “Do you wanna know how much he was going to sell your baby for?”

Stephanie clenched her jaw and heaved her chest angrily, still holding Carter close to her as he cried.

“670 million...and that wasn’t even the final bid.” Killmonger said, but then dropped his boastful attitude and looked serious, “But I wasn’t gonna let that happen. Now I’ve done a lot of things, but I wasn’t gonna let this baby get sold into slavery, because I’m not like _your_ people.”

He pressed the blade closer to her neck, making her hiss at the prick of skin, “You’re lucky I kinda like your kid, because now I don’t wanna take his mama from him. So, I’ll let you live, but you sure as hell don’t belong here.”

“So are you telling me to leave?” Stephanie asked, in a voice that let him know she wasn’t afraid of him.

“Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you?” Killmonger raised his eyebrows, “So you can run around and stop my plans at every turn in every country, Nah. I ain’t falling for that. You ain’t going nowhere, you gonna stay right here.”

Killmonger turned to Okoye and ordered, “Lock ‘em up, and throw away the key.”

Stephanie’s blood ran cold as she watched Okoye fulfill his order and stand her up on her feet, pointing her spear into her back and dragging her out of the waterfall. She didn’t hold it against her for respecting her duty as general, but she also hoped that her sense of nobility and justice was still strong within her. Even with T’Challa gone, and her being carted away to the dungeons, Stephanie still had hope that her friends would come through for her.


	8. A Gracious Miracle

“I know this must be really hard for you.” Stephanie told Okoye as her spear gently poked into her back while she lead her forward through the caverns.

“I don’t know what Killmonger has planned, but he said it involves every country, and we both know that can’t be good.” Stephanie tried to reason with her, “So please tell me you’re going to find a way to stop him.”

Okoye said nothing to her. Her face didn’t even twitch. When there was no one around them, Stephanie stopped and turned around to see her lack of expression.

“Okoye, please…” Stephanie pleaded, “You’re one of the bravest people I’ve ever known. If anyone can stop him and avenge T’Challa, it’s you. I know you love your country; I still love mine, too. But he’s too dangerous for you to blindly f-”

Okoye slapped Stephanie hard with the back of her hand. The bones of her palm made a harsh impact with her cheek bones. Stephanie didn’t stumble, but her head was whipped to the side. Okoye huffed angrily and grabbed her by the back of her neck, marching her forward to drag her further into the caverns.

She took her to large open area that had water dripping from stalactites to form a small river flowing out of the mountain and ans opening for sunlight that as several meters high. The light shone on a single isolated cage, which looked at least a couple centuries old and seemed to be made of rusted iron. The lock seemed even worse for wear.

“My King’s instructions were clear.” Okoye said as she shoved Stephanie and Carter into the cage that might as well be made from paper mache, “Lock you up and throw away the key.”

Okoye closed the lock and tossed the rusted keys into the water, and looked at Stephanie, “He did not say it had to be a _good_ prison.”

“Serves me right, I guess.” Stephanie nodded and gave a small relieved smile at Okoye’s game, “Thank you, General.”

“Try not to escape until I’m gone. If I have to see you again, I won’t be so merciful.” Okoye said, with mourning still in her eyes. Stephanie did what she said and waited until she left them alone.

“Hey Carter, you want to see something fun?” Stephanie said as she faced him forward in his carrier.

She grabbed the iron bars of the cage and took a deep breath before pulling them to opposite sides. It took even less effort than she expected, so it looked like carrying Carter around everywhere had helped her upper arm strength. She slid her way out of the wided opening and made a dash for the hallways. She headed for the only sanctuary she had left for the time being, Shuri’s lab. One of those floors in the mountain had Bucky’s cryochamber, which she needed to protect.

What she didn’t know was that Okoye had given her yet another break. After Nakia snuck out Queen Ramonda and Shuri, she also collected Ross from the study, and then she looked for Stephanie and Carter. When she confronted Okoye, she had reaffirmed her allegiance to the throne, but also led Nakia in the right direction of where she put the “outsiders” since they weren’t in the state-of-the-art prison cells.

Stephanie had almost made it to the lab when Nakia spotted her and grabbed her arm, surprising her.

“Oh, Thank God it’s you…” Stephanie whispered as she hugged Nakia tightly, “I’m so sorry…”

“We don’t have much time. We have to go now.” Nakia told her as she handed her a heavy wrap that fastened in the front, and Stephanie saw the train of people behind her. The sight of Ross still made her apprehensive, but she recognized there was nothing she could do about him now.

Their group fled the palace and trekked along the mountains to a cold, snowy climate on the outskirts of the city. Stephanie stayed close to Shuri and the Queen, and adjusted Carter’s carrier to strap him to her back, letting his peek over her shoulders while bundled in the blue wrap Nakia gave them.

“So where are we going again?” Ross asked.

“We are taking the heart-shaped herb to Jabariland.” Nakia explained.

“Heart-shaped herb? What is that?” He asked. Stephanie listened closely, as she was also curious, but hadn’t felt the need to ask.

“It gives whoever takes it heightened abilities.” Shuri explained.

“That’s what made T’Challa so strong.” Nakia continued.

Stephanie’s eyes widened. It became clear to her now what Zuri meant by having the power of the Black Panther stripped away at the challenge. Whatever he gave him reversed the effects to make the playing field fair, but the winner got to keep the strength because they were deemed worthy of it. So in a way, T’Challa also had a serum inside him that made him stronger, just like she did.

“Nakia…” Queen Ramonda called her to her side and said, “I don’t like this. The herb belongs to us. We may be creating a bigger monster with M’Baku.”

Stephanie didn’t know who she was talking about, but it sounded like he and the royal family weren’t on good terms, but he must have been something if Nakia was going to him first. They looked out at the carving of the head of a gorilla on the side of the mountain, the entrance to Jabariland.

“Nakia…” The Queen said earnestly, “You should take it yourself.”

Nakia was quiet for a second, but then responded, “I am a spy with no army. I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

The Queen considered that answer before begrudgingly accepting it, “We’ll go.”

The group continued to steadily march forward until Nakia stopped them. Stephanie heard it too, a quiet rhythm of chanting which got louder and rougher as several figures appeared and got closer. Stephanie huddled closer with the group, keeping quiet and looking around as several guards dressed in furs and carrying spears surrounded them. Even Carter was quiet as the guards pressed closer to them, chanting in unison. The Queen put a protective arm in front of Shuri.

The guards led them to their leader, the M’Baku that the Queen spoke of. His throne room hung over the cliff of the mountain and was decorating with hanging wood, and there wasn’t an inch of vibranium to be found. He sat on his throne and inspected his visitors closely with a stern look on his face. The guards intimidated them by banging their spears on the ground in sync.

Queen Ramonda approached him with tears in her eyes, “My son...was murdered in ritual combat.”

“Were the odds fair?” M’Baku asked.

“Yes, but-” Nakia tried to answer, but he cut her off.

“So it was less a murder than a defeat.” M’Baku said coldly.

“Do not rub our noses in it!” Shuri scolded him, not caring about the disadvantages.

“Silence.” M’Baku commanded, “I make the pronouncements here, girl.”

“Uh, look, Your Highness, the new king is uh-” Ross started, but the way M’Baku glared at him let everyone know he was speaking out of turn. So this king interrupted him with a guttural bark.

“The new king-” Ross tried again, because he was too dense to get the message the first time. Steph took it upon herself to smack his shoulder. Now the king and his guards were barking at him repeatedly.  
“You cannot talk!” M’Baku declared, “One more word, and I will feed you to my children.”

That shut Ross right up. Stephanie had never seen him so frightened, and it was quite the pleasure to see.

“...I’m kidding, we are vegetarians.” He said, lowering his tone and laughing so hard to himself that he snorted.

“Great Gorilla, M’Baku,” Nakia said grandly and bowed before him as she uncovered the herb in her hands, “This is why we are here. To offer this to you. An outsider sits on our throne. Only you can help us stop him.”

Queen Ramonda followed in kneeling to him, and the Shuri did as well. Stephanie bowed and pulled on Ross’s coat to bring him down with her, since he’d already disrespected him once. M’Baku stood and looked at all of them, definitely having a curious eye on Ross and Stephanie, but asking no questions.

“Come with me.” He ordered as he slowly walked out of the throne room.

M’Baku led them to a separate quarter of his palace along the mountain. The room contained sweet-smelling jars of herbs and the sharp scent of snow. As the guards stepped aside and let them see what, or who, lay in the bed of snow, the Queen gasped and Nakia exclaimed how impossible the sight was. Stephanie herself beamed in joy while at the same time wondering why she hadn’t seen this coming. After all, both she and Bucky had fallen from what should have been deadly heights only to be saved by water and snow.

T’Challa lay in the bed of snow, unconscious, but colored with life. His family surrounded him and his mother pet his forehead. Stephanie stood at the side with Ross and M’Baku.

“Is he breathing?” Nakia asked desperately.

“He’s in a coma, barely clinging to life.” M’Baku explained, “One of our fisherman found him at the edge of the river border. He brought him to me.”

“Why do you have him in the snow?” Shuri asked indignantly.

“Suspended animation.” Stephanie said out loud, since this was something she actually knew a thing or two about.

“It is the only thing keeping him from joining the ancestors.” M’Baku explained.

“We need to get him to my lab, I can heal him there.” Shuri exclaimed.

“Take him, he’ll be dead in seconds.” M’Baku said.

“Nakia, the herb.” Ramonda said, and Nakia handed it over without another word.

Ramonda crushed it with a mortar and pestle and held the concoction in her hands, praying “I call upon the ancestors. I call upon Bast. I’m here with my son, T’Challa. Heal him.”

She opened his mouth and poured the herb’s potion into him. Then, they buried him in the snow, covering his whole body, and chanted the words of prayer. They waited for the herb to take effect, praying it was not too late. Stephanie closed her eyes, praying for him as well.

When she heard him gasp for air, she opened them and saw their miracle had worked. She kneeled alongside Nakia to cheer and help him up again. Even Carter reached a hand over Stephanie’s shoulder and babbled, “Oobawoo!”

“Do you have a blanket?” T’Challa said wearily with a smile.


	9. The World on Your Shoulders

T’Challa dried himself off and gathered everyone around him so they could bring him up to speed with how far Killmonger had gone. They sat in the throne room of M’Baku, circled around him. Carter sat in T’Challa’s lap, squirming and babbling about.

“Killmonger has the full support of our military. And...he burned the garden of the Heart-Shaped Herb.” Nakia explained sorrowfully.

“Well, of course he did. That’s what he was trained to do.” Everett said matter-of-factly, “His unit used to work with the CIA to destabilize foreign countries. They would always strike at transitions-of-power, like an election year or the death of a monarch.”

Stephanie sat next to Shuri and Ramonda, and saw Ramonda lower and shake her head. The death he was referring to was of her own husband, and Shuri and T’Challa’s father. They didn’t lose just their king, they lost an important part of their family. Stephanie wasn’t royalty, but she knew that loss. She gently touched Shuri’s hand.

“You get control of government, the military…” Ross continued.

“Our resources.” T’Challa finished.

“Right.” Ross said.

“...The Great Mound.” T’Challa said, remembering that Killmonger only wanted to be King at all so he could have Wakanda’s weapons.

“Our vibranium. All of my designs. _Everything_ in my lab.” Shuri said, looking to Stephanie as she thought of the lab and what it held. Stephanie knew it, too. She’d been thinking about it ever since Killmonger called her out by name. He knew her story. He knew what she would die for.

“He tried to throw me in prison because he didn’t want to send me back out into the world. He knew I’d be a threat to him out there.” Stephanie added.

“Because he wants to send our weapons all over the world.” T’Challa said, which stunned everyone. He stood up, holding Carter to his chest and gestured to everyone as he told Nakia, “You must get them out of Wakanda safely.”

“What?” The Queen said in surprise.

“What about you?” Shuri asked.

“The challenge will have to continue.” He said.

“T’Challa. We will not leave Wakanda.” Ramonda insisted.

  
“We can help you.” Stephanie stood behind her.

“It is my duty to keep you safe.” T’Challa looked to his mother, and handed Carter back to his.

“If he gets control of our technology, nowhere will be safe.” Shuri said.

She pulled out his suit’s necklace from under her wrap, where she had been concealing it. He chuckled in surprise as recognized it. She bestowed it on him and said, “The Black Panther lives. And when he fights for the fate of Wakanda, I will be right there beside him.”

“As will I.” Nakia touched his shoulder.

“I’m in, too.” Ross said to which everyone looked at him, “What? You’re going to need all the help you can get.”

Stephanie wanted to join in and tell him that she was ready too, but then she looked down at Carter in arms as he reached for her nose. He mumbled, “Mama…”

Stephanie...” T’Challa said to her gently, “I know you want to join us...but you have your own family to protect while we save ours.”

She teared up as bobbed Carter up and down, and told him with a defeated smile, “Well...I guess have to sit this one out, then. But please know, if there’s anything you need us to do, that I’ll do it. You saved us, T’Challa. You gave us a home when we had none. You’re the reason I have hope for my son’s future. I may be an outsider, but I will always fight for Wakanda-”

M’Baku yawned loudly from his throne, interrupting. “Are you done? Are you-Are you _done_?”

T’Challa looked at him as he told the rest of the group, “Could you give me and Lord M’Baku a moment?”

The women and Ross were escorted out of the throne room by Jabari guards. When she got the chance, Stephanie pulled Shuri away from the others to talk to her in private.

“Shuri...can we unfreeze Bucky a day early?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes, but it will take about an hour for him to defrost completely. The chamber doors won’t open before that.” Shuri explained.

“Is there an override code?”

“Of course, but if you take him out before he is unfrozen, you could compromise his organs. I couldn’t guarantee he’d survive.”

  
“Bucky’s stronger than we know. I bet he would.” Stephanie insisted.

“Alright…” Shuri told her, “When we get back to the lab, he’s on the third wing to the left. The code for the defrosting process is EB012005 and if you absolutely have to, the override code is 9100-845.”

“Got it.”

* * *

  
As soon as they were within the palace walls, Nakia gave them balaclavas to hide as they snuck into the lab. Stephanie tucked Carter deeper into the wrap as she ran quickly but on soft footing. Thankfully, he kept quiet as not to alarm the guards. The guards on the other hand, seemed preoccupied and they ran towards the surface. It looked like whatever T’Challa was doing up there was causing a big fuss.

As Nakia, Shuri and Ross ran for the main lab. Stephanie split from the group to run to the left wing, but she shared a comm with them behind her ear. Luckily, it was mostly ignored since Shuri had hidden Bucky amongst her discarded failed projects. She couldn’t even see him through the metallic glass, as he was obscured by a thick film of ice.

“Hey, Buck.” She said with hope in her voice as she typed in the defrosting code, “Don’t worry, we’ll be together soon. Just hang in there, okay?”

It was frustrating to have to wait. She didn’t want to leave Bucky, and she couldn’t go to the fight with Carter on her back. The yells and shouts of battle echoed down the Mound from the surface. It was enough to make Carter distressed and start crying again.

“Poor little guy.” Stephanie rocked him and looked out for anyone hearing him and possibly coming their way.

“This isn’t the world I wanted for you.” She told him as his face went red with tears, “I wanted to wait until the world was safe for you to be born, but then I’d be waiting until Hell froze over. I didn’t want you to be born into war...but it always seems to follow us wherever we go.”

Stephanie looked back at Bucky’s chamber and saw the frost melt enough to show his face again, sleeping peacefully. She rushed over to touch the glass wistfully.

“Oh look, who’s that?” Stephanie faced Carter towards the glass, “Is that daddy? Can you wave to daddy?”

Carter glanced at the chamber, biting his fingers as he gave it a curious look and then looked back at Stephanie.

“You don’t want to wave? That’s okay. You can say hi when he wakes up.” Stephanie cooed at him, “Just don’t tell him that you were kidnapped. I don’t think he’s ready to hear that yet. I’m not even ready to talk about it yet.”

As the battle raged on, the clock kept ticking until there was only 8 minutes left on the clock. By this time, Bucky’s whole body was visible, strapped up and resting in a growing pool of water. Steam was blowing out of the edges.

Then, the ground shook. And an announcement came over the speakers.

_“The lab is under attack.”_

“Ross, Barnes!” Shuri shouted over the comm, with laser shots being fired in the background, “Get out of there now!”

“How long have we got?” Ross asked.

_“Glass integrity is at 50%”_

Stephanie looked out of the windowed wall to see a ship firing at the lab directly. It was aiming for the main lab, but she knew the whole structure was in danger.

“C’mon, Buck...C’mon…” Stephanie pleaded as she watched the timer. She wasn’t going to leave him behind, not again. Never again. When the ship fired again and shook the ground even harder, she knew she had to use the override code.

As she punched in the numbers, another shot burst the windows open and shook the whole wing. Stephanie pressed Carter closer to her, and his carrier deflected shards of broken glass as it activated the vibranium inside and gave off a faint blue glow of a force field. It was enough to protect them, but as she looked back at the tank, she saw it fallen crooked and disconnected from ceiling and the screen blinked red letters indicating that its systems were offline.

“No...Nonono…” Stephanie groaned as she tried to type in the override code again, but to no avail. The glass remained shut and the timer stopped at 5 minutes to spare.

“No!” Stephanie shouted as she punched the glass with both fists, but failed to make a crack. She grabbed any scrap of vibranium lying around and swung at the glass with all her strength. She swung again and again until finally a small hole formed in the corner. When she saw that she made progress, she swung even harder as that hole expanded into a web of cracks and she was able to break through, making water spill out all over the floor.

The ship kept firing at the lab, compromising the metal framing structure. Stephanie reached past the remaining glass and ripped the straps off of Bucky with her bare hands. She grabbed him from under his shoulders, and pulled his unconscious body closer to her chest, with Carter sandwiched in between them. The broken glass grazed against his torso and ripped through his white undershirt as she pulled him out. As soon as he was out, she moved his dead weight to her back and held his arm across her collarbone. Then, finally, she made a break for the exits.

“Come in, Barnes! Did you make it out?” Shuri asked, “Barnes! Do you read me?!”

“We’re on way. All of us.” Stephanie reported as she ran with her child on her chest and her husband on her back.

Then, suddenly, the ground gave out from under her before she could reach the cavern’s edge. She reached out with both hands. In a split second, she grabbed the last vibranium support beam attached to the mountain’s wall and Bucky’s arm before he could slip off of her back. Carter, thankfully, was still securely strapped to her chest, but it didn’t ease his screaming. She looked down and saw only the dark pit of the Mound below them.

If Stephanie wanted to climb up the supports, she would have to let go of Bucky. She tried to shake him awake so maybe he could come up with something to save them all, but nothing roused him. She tried to swing her whole body so she could throw him to the flat surface inside the opening, but the more she swung, the more she risked shaking Carter out of his carrier. Her family’s life was in her hands.

“Help!” She screamed out desperately, “Please! Someone!”

And then, the last person she expected to come for her popped his head out of the opening. Ross got on his hands and knees as he peeked over the edge.

“Give me your hand!” He shouted as he reached for her.

“I can’t!” She held on more tightly to Bucky’s arm.From this angle, his hair had fallen out of his face, and Ross could see in clear view who he was.

“Throw him up to me!” Ross said. Stephanie nodded and gave a few more powerful swings of her body, bringing in her knees to keep Carter close. She lunged her arm upwards, catapulting Bucky’s body towards Ross until he could reach and grab ahold of his legs. Finally, she let him go and let Ross pull him back to the surface. Now she could climb the supports herself with Carter in tow until she reached the opening.

“Thank you.” Stephanie said quickly and gratefully as she took the armless side of Bucky’s body and let Ross carry his other side, “Let’s go.”

They ran for the surface as fast as they could.


	10. Home

Stephanie and Ross carried Bucky through the empty palace as Shuri spoke over the comm.

“Ross, Barnes, do you read me? Are you safe?” She asked.

“We’re here. Everyone made it out. Do you have eyes on T’Challa?” Stephanie asked.

“Negative, he disappeared into the Mound with Killmonger.” Shuri explained.

“We just came from the Mound, there’s nothing left.” Ross reported.

“I’m sending you my coordinates. Come meet me here.” Shuri said.

“Coordinates? How are y-” Ross said, but then stopped when he heard Stephanie’s bracelet trill like it was ringing.

Stephanie looked at her wrist as the bead projected a map for where to go. She nodded and said, “We’re on our way.”

Ross looked at her and the man they were carrying in confusion as they marched on.

“So this is why you came to Wakanda. To hide your husband.” Ross said as he put the pieces together in his mind.

“Not just to hide him, to heal him.” Stephanie explained, cutting Ross some slack for saving them, “T’Challa wanted to do the right thing after he realized Zemo used Bucky’s brainwashing against us. Wakanda was the only place that could cure him.”

“So the Winter Soldier-” Ross started to say.

“-Is gone.” Stephanie asserted, “Along with Captain America.”

“So why does our intel get tips about a certain vigilante matching your description galavanting around the globe taking on terrorist groups?” Ross asked, but he already used up his free question.

“I don’t know. Probably a copycat.” Stephanie asserted, “This is the first time I’m hearing about this.”

“Sure it is.” Ross said sarcastically.

“How could I be fighting terrorists and taking care of my baby by myself at the same time?” Stephanie said as she touched Carter’s head, “As far are the Accords are concerned, I retired, Agent Ross. _We_ retired. You can ask the King himself.”

“Ask me what?” They heard a regal voice behind them just before they walked outside.

They turned around and saw T’Challa, mask off, with a solemn expression as he held Killmonger’s body in his arms. His chest was pierced but his face looked at peace. Shuri joined them shortly after and ran over to hug T’Challa’s neck.

“You did it, big brother!” Shuri explained, but she saw he took no joy in the victory.

“He asked for a burial at sea.” T’Challa said stoicly, “I will grant his request.”

* * *

  
Despite everything, T’Challa allowed for Killmonger’s body to undergo the Wakandan ritual for burial, with his close circle attending the funeral. Everything was prepared and decorated for his descent into the waters. As the night grew darker, the boat that they stood on was lit up with torches. Stephanie stood by T’Challa’s side as they lowered his shrouded form into the sea.

“N’Jadaka...was wronged by my father.” T’Challa explained, “Instead of bringing him home, he abandoned him to live as an orphan in poverty. Growing up that way...is what drove him to almost destroy the world. If he had been brought to us...rejoined his family...he could have been a different man.”

Stephanie said quietly, “I still...wanted to thank him for saving my baby.”

T’Challa nodded his head, “He wanted to be buried this way...because of his ancestors who threw themselves from slave ships. He said that they knew that death was better than bondage. For generations, my ancestors kept the gifts of Wakanda a secret to protect ourselves from that fate, but in doing so, shut out our fellow man in their time of need. N’Jadaka saw this, and chose to act on it. I choose...not to ignore it any longer.”

Stephanie looked at T’Challa as she tried to understand what he was trying to say.

“I am going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world. We will help millions who are in need as you were. Your family will no longer need to hide in the shadows. And once we open an embassy in New York, you will be able to safely return to your home.” T’Challa told her.

Stephanie struggled to contain her elated tears as she nodded and reached over to hug him.

* * *

 

Bucky could sense other people in the room before he opened his eyes. When he stirred, it sent the children who came to spy on him running out of the hut. They couldn’t help but be curious. They’d never seen a white man up close before. The only creature they’d seen that white was a wolf. So they snickered calling him “White Wolf” as they ran towards Shuri.

“Are you teasing that man again?” Shuri asked them with a smile as she waited outside the hut, holding Carter in her arms so that he would be the first person he’d see when he woke. The children crowded around her aweing and poking Baby Carter’s cheeks.

“[A cub! There’s a white cub too!]” They stared at his blonde hair and blue eyes with such curiosity.

Shuri warned them not to make the baby fussy, but Carter seemed to like the attention, reaching for their fingers as they touched him. As he was getting bigger, he was starting to open up more, and picking up more words in both Xhosa and English.

Bucky ducked his head as he walked out of the hut, looking around at surrounding huts and open savanna with sparse trees and a nearby oasis. He wasn’t sure where he was or who dressed him in a soft blue and red tartan wrap. Then, he stopped when he noticed Shuri and focused his gaze on the infant in her arms. He hadn’t seen him since he was pink and wrinkly, but he recognized Carter instantly, because he saw his own face in his.

Bucky’s eyes glistened as he slowly approached them. He heaved deeply as he touched his son’s head and kissed his cheek. When he went under, he was afraid Carter would be grown by the time he woke up. He thanked God and Shuri that he hadn’t missed Carter’s childhood.

“Hey buddy, do you know who I am?” He wiped his eyes and smiled as he brought his face close to Carter’s.

“...Buck.” Carter muttered as he bit his fingers.

Bucky chuckled with such warmth, “Is that what you’re always gonna call me?”

“Good to see you awake, Sergeant Barnes.” Shuri greeted him.

“Bucky.” He insisted while he gave Carter another kiss on the forehead.

“How are you feeling?” Shuri asked, assessing him.

“Good.” He said, looking deeply at her, “Thank you.”

“That’s good, there is one more person who will be happy to hear that.” Shuri smiled and she gestured behind him.

Bucky turned around and saw Stephanie standing close by in a similar wrap to his, staring at him with her cheeks already soaked. She looked him up and down as she moved towards him with a starting trot before running at him and embracing him tightly, collapsing into his chest in sobs. He encircled his arm around her back, letting the tears he held back earlier fall freely. She placed her hands firmly on his beard and shoved her face into his for a big kiss. When she wrapped her arms around his neck, he held her closer to lift her in the air. She smiled brightly as she supported herself on his shoulders and he spun her around.

“Bucky…” She choked out as she held onto him for dear life, “Oh God...it’s really you.”

“Steph…” He lowered her down and kissed her again, softly and slowly. She melted into him as she took in this moment in its entirety. It felt just like the night before he shipped out, when they realized they had taken every kiss before that for granted.

“Ma-Ma-Mama.” Carter waved his arm at Stephanie, beckoning her to hold him. Stephanie sniffed and laughed as she let Bucky go to pick him up from Shuri’s hold. She held their son close to her as she returned to Bucky’s chest, letting Carter rest his head between both of his parents.

“We did it, Buck.” Stephanie said, “We finally did it.”

Shuri let them bask in the moment for a few minutes before she interrupted, “I’m so happy for all of you. Now, you must come with me. I have much to show you all.”

“Where are we going?” Bucky followed behind Stephanie as she took his hand.

“Home.” Stephanie said warmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after some long consideration, I have decided to put this story on hiatus after this happy "ending." If you saw Infinity War, you know why I want to wait before tackling it (especially since it would only take about 5-6 chapters since Steve had less than 7 minutes of screentime). I want to wait until closer to A4 so that this fic will not come to a long wait between the cliffhanger and the resolution. I may do an in-between filler chapter or start Avengers 1 flashbacks in the winter if I am up to it. Please don't be sad, you want this hiatus trust me, your feels depend on it.


	11. Birthday

“Happy Birthday to You.”

_“Imini Emandi Kuwe.”_

“Happy Birthday, dear Carter…”

_“Imini Emandi Kuwe.”_

Shuri brought out the single chocolate cupcake decorated with a red star and a lone candle on top, presenting it to Carter in his mother’s lap as everyone sang around him. He clapped and laughed as everyone sang: his mother, his father, King T’Challa, Princess Shuri, and the local village children.

“Go on, blow out the candle.” Shuri told Carter sweetly, but he just looked at the small fire and tried to grab it.

Stephanie took his hand and gently pulled it away, “I don’t think he understands.”

“Just show him how to do it. Do it like this.” Bucky rested his arm on his knee and blew in Carter’s direction, making sure not to blow the candle out himself, “Carter, watch me, do it like this.”

Carter chewed on his fingers, just staring blankly at Bucky. So everyone did it, blowing again and again, urging Carter to try it himself.

“He’s not gonna do it!” Thabo laughed.

“He can do it, let him try.” T’Challa insisted.

Carter finally made an effort, but he didn’t blow air out like everyone around him, he just blew a big raspberry that projected enough spit to douse the candle out. The table broke out into a riot of laughs and cheers. Stephanie pulled the candle off so that Carter could dig into his birthday cupcake all by himself. Everyone else was served slices of a bigger birthday cake with wild animals toppers and ice cream inside. When it was present time, Thabo insisted they open his present first.

“Oh that’s so nice of you! Thank you so much!” Stephanie cooed as she opened the box he wrapped and tied himself. Inside was a small painted wooden goat toy that had vibranium wheels on the feet. She gasped, “It’s so cute! Carter, look!”

She put it on the table and put Carter’s hand on it, rolling it back and forth to show him how it worked. He bounced in her lap and grunted, “Mm...mbuzi…”

“Aw, he likes it!” Shuri cheered, grabbing a wider, flatter box from the counter, “Me next, me next!”

“Thank you, Shuri.” Bucky nodded with a smile as he took the present and unwrapped this one himself with his one arm. As he took off the lid, he and Steph looked down at the gift inside and were stunned for a moment.

“Oh wow,” Stephanie said as she lifted the small onesie up for all to see. It looked like a normal baby jumpsuit to the naked eye, but Stephanie had been around T’Challa’s suit enough to know the vibranium lining under the white fur when she saw it, “How adorable. Is it...shielded?”

“It’s blended the same way as his carrier. I noticed he was starting to outgrow it, so I made him a suit!” Shuri explained.

“Like...a...fighting suit?” Bucky asked.

“No, sillies! Just for playing and sleeping. Oh, and guess what animal I modeled it after.” Shuri bit her lip deviously.

Bucky felt the fabric, “Well it has fur.”

“And it’s white.” Stephanie noted.

“Is it a goat?” Bucky asked. The Wakandans around them laughed, like they were all in on some joke.

“No! It’s a-”

“Thabo, don’t spoil it!”

“No, it’s not a goat, look at the ears.” Stephanie said, holding up the hoodie of the suit, “They’re pointed. Is it...an albino panther?”

The group laughed even harder. Carter was pulling on one of the feet of the suit. He wanted to try it on already. His parents decided putting it on him might make it easier to tell. Once he was secured in, it finally hit them.

“Oh, it’s a wolf!” Bucky said.

“It’s a White wolf cub!” The village kids laughed.

“Oh, that’s so perfect! We love it.” Stephanie said, laughing with them.

* * *

  
After the party ended and the village children returned home, Stephanie cleaned up in their modest but spacious hut provided by the owner of farm they worked on, who was also Thabo’s father. T’Challa also remained to help her.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Stephanie brushed it off.

“I insist.” T’Challa stated and gathered the paper plates for recycling and compost.

“Uh oh…” Bucky lifted Carter up by his legs to smell his diaper, “Yup, it’s changing time.”

“I got it.” Stephanie rushed over, but Bucky looked at her as he picked Carter up.

“Don’t worry, I can do it. I’ve mastered the one-arm changing technique. You’ll see.” Bucky said as he took Carter to the nursery.

Once Bucky was out of the room, it was just T’Challa and Stephanie, and he was able to reveal the true reason he stayed.

“I have one more present…” T’Challa pulled a small blue envelope from his sleeve, “...from Agent Ross.”

Stephanie gasped quietly, looking back at the nursery to see if Bucky was listening. Even when Stephanie explained that she and Ross were on better terms now, that still wasn’t enough to convince Bucky he was their ally, especially since she still didn’t have the heart to tell him about Carter’s kidnapping in Busan.

She hesitantly took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a Hallmark birthday card, an Avengers brand birthday card wishing a special boy a heroic first birthday. She thought he was just mocking her at first, and then she opened the card.

A social security card was inside. Issued to Carter Joseph Barnes.

Stephanie’s eyes shook as she looked back up at T’Challa for an explanation. She knew that she didn’t fill out the paperwork.

“He told me...that establishing the Wakandan Embassy in New York was going to take more time...but that he deserved to go home.” T’Challa said quietly.

Stephanie’s eyes started to water. She was truly surprised that Everett did this. She was expecting him to revel in the irony that Captain America’s son was not a U.S citizen. She did intend to take Carter to at least see New York someday, but...she couldn’t see it happening soon. The last place she lived was the Avengers compound, and she knew she wasn’t welcome there.

She looked at Bucky, making funny faces at Carter while skillfully adhering the velcro to the diaper with two fingers while holding the front flap in place with his thumb.

Stephanie sighed, “This is his home.”


	12. Call to Action

Stephanie either woke up to the sun shining down on her face or Carter’s hungry cry for breakfast, whichever came first. This time, it was Carter hollering from his nursery. The sun hadn’t risen yet, so the lighting came from the soft blue glow of the holoscreen panel. She felt Bucky’s arm spooning over her and could feel his breath on the back of her head. She slowly slipped out from under him and kissed his forehead good morning before dressing in a blue-patterned wrap and tending to Carter in the nursery.

The baby stood in his vibranium crib and shook the bars with a fury. At first, she rejected the metal crib because it looked too harsh, but a couple weeks ago, he broke one of the bars off his wooden crib and was putting the splinters in his mouth, so now she didn’t have a choice. Luckily, breakfast could be served up quickly because on the dresser was a device that could brew baby formula as fast as a coffee maker; all she had to do was put in the powdered formula packet and set up the bottle. She pulled him out of his crib and tried to sit with him in the rocking chair, but he was too fussy to sit properly.

She held him tightly to calm him down until his milk was ready. Once he had his bottle in his hands, he relaxed and slumped into her arms. She knew he was going to go through about five more of these today since he was a hungry little boy. There was also the mushed vegetables mix in the fridge for lunch and the bananas for snack time.

Bucky woke up about half an hour later and joined them in the nursery to kiss them both good morning.

“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” Bucky said sweetly as he wrapped his whole arm around Carter to pick him up and jostle him around, “Wow, you are getting heavy.”

“I’m almost too nervous to put him on the scale. He might break it.” Stephanie jested, standing up and kissing Bucky properly on the lips, “So what’s the plan for today?”

“The usual. Feed the goats. Milk the goats. Maybe make some goat cheese.” Bucky said, setting Carter down on his two feet so he could waddle around, “And you?”

“I think Carter and I are just going to take it easy today. Besides, I still haven’t memorized the colors in Xhosa, so he’s way ahead of me there.” Stephanie said.

“Just don’t watch too many cartoons today. That stuff will rot your brain.” Bucky smiled and kissed her forehead, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Stephanie nuzzled her face into his neck and hugged him. Sometimes she just had to hold him and take in the fact that this was all real.

* * *

  
Carter sat in front of the holoscreen when his favorite show was on. It was a typical children’s cartoon about a cute little lion and his savanna friends. There were two lines for captioning, one in English on top, and one in Xhosa at the bottom, but the audio was in Xhosa. These were personalized in the settings.

Stephanie felt like making something familiar for lunch, so she pulled out the flour, veggies, butter, and meat for some old-fashioned American chicken pot pie. It may not taste the same as if she were making it back in Brooklyn, but she was still going to try. While there was a hi-tech electrical oven in the kitchen, she preferred the wood-fired oven which was also available.

The vegetables tasted different here, and the gravy was also different since she was using goat milk, but it came out looking nice and it still tasted good. She even invited the local children to come sample a piece. They were excited to try some “authentic” American food. Bucky was the only one who could taste the difference.

After lunch, Carter went down for his nap and Stephanie watched from the kitchen window as Bucky herded the goats back to their pens. Without Carter to occupy her time, things became quiet. Life was easier here, it was almost like an impossible dream. Even Brooklyn was never this peaceful. Here, they never starved, never had to pay bills, and wanted for nothing. Technically, Bucky didn’t have to work since T’Challa offered to let them continue living in the palace, but Stephanie and Bucky agreed that they wanted to work for their keep. If anything, it gave him routine, something he desperately needed for his recovery.

And yet, every day, from the time she woke up to feed the baby to when she was laying in bed at night with her husband, there was still a strange feeling gnawing at her, like something was incomplete. But what could she be missing? This was everything she fought for. This was everything she could ever want. Wasn’t it?

Suddenly, a loud muffled chiming erupted in the air. It wasn’t enough to wake Carter up since he was a heavy sleeper, but it was coming from her own bedroom. She knew what it was from the first ring, and it made her bones grow heavy. She rushed to the room and pulled the small burner phone out of its hiding place in her closet. Her blood ran cool as she saw Tony’s name on the digital screen. After two years, he was finally calling her. She had to open it, and she had to press talk.

“Hello?” She answered.

“Stephanie…” The male voice sounded desperate on the other side, but it wasn’t Tony.

“Bruce?”

The call only lasted about two minutes, but it shattered the rosy bubble she had built around herself in the last few months. The world was in danger. Again. But from what Bruce described, it matched up from what Thor said after they defeated Ultron. That these “gems of the universe” or whatever were coming into play because of someone more dangerous than they could imagine. Now that someone had a name, Thanos. And now they needed her help. She had to help them find Vision so they could keep Thanos from getting the mind stone from him and using it to destroy life as they knew it.

Stephanie could see Carter sleeping in his crib from where she stood, and a tear fell down her cheek. She wanted to tell Bruce that her life was different now, and that they could do this without her, but then he revealed that Tony was gone.

“...I’ll see what I can do. Do what you can. Don’t wait for my instructions.” She said in her Captain voice, “And Bruce? It’s good to hear from you again.”

When Stephanie hung up, she saw Bucky standing in the doorway, looking at her solemnly. She heaved a heavy shaking breath as the tears poured out.

“I’m sorry…” She said softly, “I don’t have time to explain.”

He sighed in resignation, “You don’t have to.”

“Bucky, please…” She said as she watched him walk away from her, “I don’t want to go, but if I don’t-”

“I know.” Bucky walked to the closet and pulled her “secret” panel which wasn’t so secret after all. He grabbed her Nomad outfit from the compartment and handed it to her, “Job’s not finished. You gotta suit up.”

She changed in front of him painfully as they sensed the danger she was running into, but he knew it never stopped her before. They could kick the woman out of the Avengers, but they couldn’t kick the Avenger out of the woman.

As she stood in front of the mirror in her suit, she felt a sense of wholeness, like she was looking at her true self, with Bucky in the background. She turned back to look at him and grabbed his face forcefully for a longing goodbye kiss, something she had hoped to never give him again.

Finally, she walked over to Carter’s crib and pet his head as he slept, getting a good feel of the softness of his blonde hair.

_Goodbye, my son._ She wanted to say, but the words couldn’t come out, as if speaking them would make them too real.

Bucky stood in the doorway as she walked out of their hut, watching her stoic face turn back one more time to give him an assuring nod.


	13. The Return

If Bruce couldn’t track Vision, then Stephanie couldn’t either. However, she had a good idea why he would drop off the map and where he would go after turning off his tracker. She didn’t know if the others realized this yet, but Vision was in love. She’d suspected it from that fateful day in Sokovia. She knew it when she saw the way he and Wanda looked at each other. She taught him to be human, and he taught her how to be more than that. So if she could find Wanda, she could find Vision.

After Stephanie broke her out of the Raft, Wanda had chosen not to join Stephanie’s Secret Avengers. Instead, she chose to exile herself to a quiet life in Scotland, or at least as quiet as Scotland could get. However, she still had to keep in contact with them. She contacted Natasha and Sam for a ride, and between the two it sounded like Natasha owed Sam money on a bet of how long it would take for Steph to come out of retirement.

“Good to have you back, Steph.” Sam hugged her, “Is the mini Cap not making the trip?”

“No, he’s staying home with his dad this time.” Stephanie explained.

“Damn, I miss that little tyke.” Sam said.

“And he misses Uncle Sam.” Stephanie jested.

“It’s for the best, your vulnerable mother and child act probably wouldn’t have worked on these guys.” Nat said as she turned on the monitor to their jet and showed the footage of the latest attack in New York. A large portal opened up in the sky, but rather than an armada of aliens, it was only two, and their single circular spaceship, but they still caused a lot of damage. These two didn’t seem like regular goons.

“What do we know about them?” Stephanie asked.

“Not much. You’re the only one who Bruce called.” Natasha said.

“I’ll explain what I know on the way, then.” Stephanie said, “But whoever shows up, just be ready for a big fight.”

* * *

  
Stephanie stopped by Wanda’s apartment, but found it empty. There wasn’t any sign of a break-in, so she must have been out at this hour, most likely with Vision. As much as Stephanie hated to intrude on budding love, this was too serious. She had to find them and tell them to postpone their date night.

Then, a loud ruckus that moved around too quickly to be a regular scuffle echoed around the buildings. Whatever was looking for Vision was already here, so they had to move fast. They followed the sound and saw four figures flying around and thrashing on rooftops. Two of those figures crashed inside of the train station. So Vision and Wanda had lost the element of surprise, but Stephanie and her team hadn’t yet. They could still use that to their advantage. They snuck into the train station and waited at different sides.

Stephanie saw Vision and Wanda on the ground on the other side of the tracks, and the two other figures chasing after them were definitely aliens, but not the same aliens who were in New York. Just as the female one with sleek blue hair and black horns growing out of the side of her face was about to strike, a train passed by that Stephanie was able to hide behind, barely obscured until the last car passed.

She was still shadowed in darkness until the alien woman focused on her instead and threw her spear at her. Stephanie evaded and caught it before it hit her shoulder. She stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself in her Nomad suit and a stern glare. While the alien was focused on her, Sam flew in and kicked her through the glass walls of the station cafe. With her out of the way, he could launch small missiles targeted at the sleek male alien. While he was swatting those away with his own weapon, Stephanie threw the spear to Natasha, who sweeped at him and stabbed him in the side of his abdomen. While he was impaled, she kicked him off and left him to bleed out on the ground.

The female alien returned, taking her spear back by telekinesis, and she looked pissed. Before she could strike Natasha, Stephanie rolled over to them, grabbed the other weapon and clashed with her in Natasha’s place. This gave Nat time to pull out her own batons while Stephanie blocked the alien’s strikes. She was fast and flipped over Stephanie to fight them both, side to side. The two human women kept her distracted long enough so Sam could come back and airkick her out of the way, back towards her wounded partner. Sam held up a gun at both of them.

“Get up.” The alien woman pleaded aggressively with the fallen one.

“I can’t.” He muttered in pain.

“We don’t want to kill you.” Natasha told them, “But we will.”

“You’ll never get the chance again.” The woman retorted. She pressed a button on her wrist that pulled them back in by a skybeam in an instant. The team looked around and saw the beam coming from the roof, or actually, through the roof. The weapon was pulled in with them.

Once they were gone, Stephanie and the team ran over to Wanda and Vision’s side, noticing he had also been wounded in the fight.

“Can you stand?” Sam asked and helped him up. He was glitching, but he appeared to be stable.

“Thank you, Captain.” Vision told Stephanie gratefully.

Stephanie nodded silently. She didn’t feel like now was the time to tell him why she didn’t go by that name anymore. There was a lot she couldn’t explain to him right now, not when those aliens were still out there and working for someone even worse.

“Let’s get you on the jet.” She said stoicly.

As Natasha closed the doors on their quinjet, she started to scold Wanda, “I thought we had a deal. Stay close. Check in. Don’t take any chances.”

“I’m sorry.” Wanda tried to explain, “We just wanted time.”

“Where to, Steph?” Sam asked.

Stephanie was this close to saying “home,” but that’s wasn’t the same place it used to be. Now, home was a nice little hut on a goat farm in the borderlands of Wakanda, where her husband and child were, where she would be if not for this great threat.

“The compound.” Stephanie sighed and walked to her seat on the jet.


	14. For Love

_“Still no word from Vision?”_ A holograph of Secretary Thunderbolt Ross and his staff appeared in the middle of the meeting room of the Avengers compound. Rhodey was the only one around to answer him.

“Satellites lost him somewhere over Edinburgh.” Rhodey said.

_“In a stolen quinjet with four of the world’s most wanted criminals.”_ Ross responded.

“You know, they’re only criminals because you’ve chosen to call them that, right sir?” Rhodey defended his friends. He may have fought them over the Accords, but none of them deserved to be treated as a threat.

_“My God, Rhodes. Your talent for horseshit rivals my own.”_

“If it weren’t for those Accords, Vision would’ve been right here.” Rhodey asserted. If the Accords hadn’t split the team, they’d all have been here, and Tony might not have disappeared.

_“I remember your signatures on those papers, Colonel.”_ Secretary Ross retorted.

“That’s right…” Rhodey nodded and walked up to the hologram with his leg braces, “...and I’m pretty sure I paid for that.”

_“You have second thoughts?”_

“Not anymore.”

As Rhodey confronted Ross, Stephanie and her Secret Avengers strolled into the meeting room, with Wanda and Sam holding up the injured Vision.

“Mr. Secretary.” Stephanie greeted him in her black leather suit with gold epaulets and belt as she looked at the flickering light in front of her. Since he’d last seen her, her blonde hair had darkened a few shades and her face was weary. Now, Natasha was the blonde one.

_“You got some nerve, I’ll give you that.”_ He was more angry than he was stunned.

“You could use some of that right now.” Natasha told him.

_“The world’s on fire, and you think all is forgiven?”_ Ross asked Stephanie specifically and once he was closer, he whispered, _“Honestly, think of your boy.”_

“I’m not looking for forgiveness, and I’m way past asking permission.” Stephanie answered with a sullen glare. She feared he knew about her baby, but she didn’t falter. Her husband and her son were safe from him, and that gave her comfort, “Earth just lost her best defender. So we’re here to fight. And if you wanna stand in our way...we’ll fight you, too.”

  
Secretary Ross looked back at Rhodey and ordered, _“Arrest them.”_

Rhodey nodded and responded, “All over it,” before he swiped the holograph away to end the call. He looked at the team and shrugged, “That’s a court-martial.”

Stephanie smiled as she realized Rhodey was still their friend.

“Good to see you, Cap.” He greeted her.

“You too, Rhodey.” She embraced him in a longful hug, which Natasha joined in. She had so much she wanted to tell him, but now wasn’t the time for catching up, not yet.

“Wow, you guys...really look like crap.” Rhodey commented as he looked at all of them, “Must have been a rough couple years.”

Stephanie chuckled and brushed her hair back, “You don’t even know…”

“Yeah well, the hotels weren’t exactly five-star.” Sam said.

“Uh, well, I think you look great.” A nervous familiar voice said as Bruce Banner stumbled in from the other room in shabby clothing with his hands tucked into each other as usual, “Yeah, I’m back.”

Stephanie smiled. She wanted to rush over and hug him too, but someone else had missed him more in the past three years.

“Hi, Bruce.” Natasha said quietly.

“Nat.” He said back as they looked at each other with a mixture of relief, shame, and loss.

“This is awkward…” Sam murmured.

They only did a quick catching-up to fill Bruce in on the Accords before they talked about Thanos and the scouts he sent to New York and Edinburgh, and even then, Stephanie didn’t mention her family in Wakanda. It wasn’t relevant to the fight at this time.

“So we gotta assume they’re coming back, right?” Rhodey asked

“And they can clearly find us.” Wanda added.

“We need all hands on deck. Where’s Clint?” Bruce asked.

  
“After the whole Accords situation, he and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families. They’re on house arrest.” Natasha answered.

“Who’s Scott?”

“Ant-Man.”

“There’s an Ant-Man _and_ a Spider-Man?” Bruce couldn’t keep up with all the new people, but he had to get back on track, “Look, Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he is not going to stop until he...he gets...Vision’s stone.”

“Well then we have to protect it.” Natasha said first.

“No, we have to destroy it.” Vision said, surprising everyone. So he continued, “I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to this entity in my head, about its nature, but also, its composition. I think if it were exposed to a sufficiently powerful energy source, something very similar to its own signature, perhaps…” He explained as he walked closer to Wanda, whose own powers came from the stone itself, “...its molecular integrity could fail.”

He held Wanda’s shoulder as she realized what he was asking her to do. So she said, “Yeah, and you with it. We’re not having this conversation.”

“Eliminating the stone is the only way to be certain that Thanos can’t get it.” Vision spoke more quietly to her. Stephanie watched with a heavy heart. She saw they were in love. She knew it well herself. She knew Wanda couldn’t do that to the man she loved. Stephanie didn’t think she could, either.

“That’s too high a price.” Wanda insisted.

Vision held her head gently in his hands, “Only you have the power to pay it.”

Wanda walked out of his hold in tears, hiding her face away from the rest of the group. Stephanie could tell what Wanda was feeling. Only some of her tears were for the thought of killing him. The others were for entertaining the thought of letting the rest of the world burn under her feet to keep Vision with her. Stephanie knew that feeling, too.

“Thanos threatens half the universe.” Vision tried to reason with her, “One life cannot stand in the way of defeating him.”

“But it should.” Stephanie spoke up. There had to be another way, “We don’t trade lives, Vision.”

“Captain, 70 years ago, you laid down your life to save how many millions of people?” Vision asked her, “Tell me, why is this any different?”  
“Because you might have a choice,” Bruce spoke up, “Your mind is made up of a complex construct of overlays. Jarvis, Ultron, Tony, me, the stone. All of them mixed together, all of them learning from one another.”

“You’re saying Vision isn’t just the stone?” Wanda asked in a pleading voice.

“I’m saying that if we take out the stone, there’s still a whole lot of Vision left. Perhaps the best parts.” Bruce said.

“Can we do that?” Natasha asked.

“Not me, not here.” Bruce answered quickly.

Stephanie immediately thought about Shuri. She wasn’t just the Princess of Wakanda, she was also the head of the country’s scientific engineering department. She devised a way to remove the Winter Soldier programming from Bucky’s head without hurting him. If she could do that for Vision, she could save the world, or even the universe.

“Well, you better find someone and somewhere fast.” Rhodey said, “Ross isn’t just going to let you guys have your old rooms back.”

Stephanie spoke up. It looked like the rest of the crew would get to see her family after all.

“I know somewhere.”


	15. Protecting Your Home

Bucky was working up a sweat tending to the goats. He fed them this morning, and now he needed to brush their coats.

“Buzi! Buzi!” Carter toddled over and patted the nanny goat’s fur. He jumped up and down to show he wanted to get up.

“You want to go for a goat ride buddy?” Bucky asked, picking him up by the back of his onesie, “Okay, goat ride.”

He carefully held Carter as the baby lay his belly flat on the nanny goat’s back and held onto the fur. As the nanny goat walked ahead, Bucky followed alongside it, keeping Carter balanced. When the goat walked faster, Bucky quickened his pace beside it and Carter screamed in laughter.

They circled around the pen a couple of times before Bucky noticed King T’Challa and his bodyguard Okoye as well as two more guards walking towards him. He feared the worst. He took Carter off the goat and carried him with him to speak with the King. As they approached him, the two guards opened a metal casing in front of him. He looked at the metal arm inside and knew what they were asking him to do.

“Ubawoo!” Carter exclaimed as he rushed over to T’Challa and clung to his leg. T’Challa smiled and patted the child’s head.

“Where’s Stephanie?” Bucky asked first.

“She is alright. She is returning here, but the fight will follow her soon after.” T’Challa explained. Stephanie had told him everything, about Thanos, his army and the stones he sought to destroy half the universe. Only Wakanda had the technology that could go against him.

“And you need all the men you can get.” Bucky said in dejection. If Stephanie wasn’t free from this life, then how could he hope to be? He had tried this metal arm on to hold his son, but he had returned it shortly after, because he didn’t want to hold on to his painful history with the other one. But if this was truly desperate times, he couldn’t afford to say no.

“I’m sorry, Barnes. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.” T’Challa said.

“I know.” Bucky sighed and picked Carter up from the King’s leg. Together, they followed him back to the palace.

* * *

  
Stephanie stood at the head of the quinjet, looking out of the window at the beautiful facade of Wakandan mountains.

“Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0.” Stephanie ordered. When she explained the dire circumstances to T’Challa, he allowed her to bring the rest of the team back to Wakanda with her. He had technically already opened the country’s borders, but it was a still a delicate matter.

“I hope you’re right about this, or we’re gonna land a lot faster than you want to.” Sam said. He trusted her orders, even when they seemed crazy. As they flew through mountain, the shielding dissipated and showed them the real Wakanda in all its glory. They landed in front of the royal palace, where the King and his Dora Milaje were already waiting for them. Stephanie walked in front of the team so they could greet T’Challa.

“Should we bow?” Bruce quickly asked Rhodey.

“Yeah, he’s a king.” Rhodey said.

“Seems like I always have a new reason to thank you.” Stephanie brightened up when she spoke to T’Challa, who opened his arms to allow her to hug him. Bruce was stunned, but he bowed anyway.

“What are you doing?” Rhodey asked him mockingly.

“Uh, we...don’t do that here.” T’Challa explained to an embarrassed Bruce. Rhodey snickered at him.

“So how big of an assault should we expect?” T’Challa asked Stephanie as he walked them back towards the palace.

“Uh sir, sir, I think you should expect quite a big assault.” Bruce explained.

“How we looking?” Natasha asked.

“You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and…” T’Challa directed them towards their final asset.

“A semi-stable 100-year-old man.” Bucky appeared in a new blue leather combat jacket and a shiny vibranium arm with gold linings, holding Carter who was chewing his fingers.

Stephanie perked up with unspeakable joy and rushed over to kiss Bucky and their son. She wrapped her arm around Bucky and looked back to the Avengers standing there. Sam, Natasha, and Wanda already knew, but Vision, Rhodey and Bruce did not.

“Everyone…” She explained, “I’m sure you all know Bucky...and this…” She took Carter from Bucky’s hands after he reached for her, “...this is our son, Carter.”

“...Hi.” Carter gave a shy little wave.

“Wow…” Rhodey blinked several times, “Wow, I just...Congratulations, Cap.”

“H-How old is he?” Bruce asked. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed until now. Last time he was on Earth, Bucky was still missing.

“He’s about 14 months old now, and as healthy as can be.” Stephanie said, “We’ve been living here in Wakanda until...until it’s safe for us to go back to America.”

“Right...that’s...um…” Bruce put his fist to his mouth. He really didn’t know what to say to this since Rhodey already gave her the congrats, so he trailed off. Vision just took in the new information and filed it away somewhere to think about later.

They all went up to Shuri’s new laboratory in the palace. She placed Vision on her table for scanning so she could examine his gem with her kimoyo beaded ring. It appeared in her hand as a hologram for her to analyze, which stunned Bruce.

“The structure is polymorphic.” Shuri noted.

“Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially.” Bruce explained.

“Why didn’t you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?” Shuri asked. It was how Wakanda did their prosthetics so that people like Bucky could work their new limbs with as much control as the old ones.

“Because...we...didn’t think of it?” Bruce said sheepishly.

Shuri smiled, “I’m sure you did your best.”

“Can you do it?” Wanda asked, pleading.

“Yes, but there are more than two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures. It will take time, brother.” Shuri explained, looking at T’Challa.

“How long?” Stephanie asked.

“As long as you can give me.” Shuri said.

Then, Okoye’s kimoyo beads trilled in alarm. She answered it and saw a pulsing glow on her screen, stating, “Something’s entered the atmosphere.”

_“Hey, Cap. We got a situation here.”_ Sam reported to Steph over the comm. It looked like they wouldn’t have much time after all. As they watched from the window, they saw large angular ships landing outside of the dome.

“It’s too late.” Vision tried to get up from the table, “We need to destroy the stone now.”

“Vision, get your ass back on the table.” Natasha ordered.

“We will hold them off.” T’Challa said.

“Wanda, as soon as that stone’s out of his head, you blow it to hell.” Stephanie quickly turned to Bucky and handed Carter back to him, ordering in a low quiet voice, “I need you to take Carter to safety and then join Sam on the ground. I’ll meet you there shortly.”

Before Bucky could do as she said, Steph held her son’s face in her hands one more time, kissing his forehead hard. She teared up as she whispered to him, “Mama loves you.”

She took in every detail of Carter’s face before she watched Bucky take him away.

“Evacuate the city, engage all defenses... “ T’Challa ordered, “...And get this woman a shield.”

Stephanie took a deep breath and turned her face to stone as she looked back at him and nodded.


	16. Thor Returns

The Avengers joined the Wakandan forces on the battlefield, meeting at the border of the forcefield. Even Bruce was joining the fight despite the fact that he wasn’t able to turn into the Hulk for the time being. They didn’t really have time to discuss it, but they managed to put him in the Hulkbuster suit that was once used against him. He still needed to get used to it, as evidenced by him tripping over a rock and sliding into the grass, but it was the best they could manage.

“I’ve got two heat signatures breaking through the tree line.” Rhodey reported, so they gathered at the sector of the dome where Thanos’s army marched forward, with the alien woman from before at the head, along with a different bigger alien at her side.

Stephanie, Bucky, and Natasha joined T’Challa at the front of the line, where he greeted M’Baku, who was also ready to fight. However, it was only Stephanie, T’Challa and Natasha who walked up to the barrier to talk to the aliens.

“Where’s your other friend?” Natasha got the first word.

“You will pay for his life with yours.” The horned alien woman said coldly, “Thanos will have that stone.”

“That’s not gonna happen.” Stephanie asserted.

“You are in Wakanda now.” T’Challa declared, “Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood.”

“We have blood to spare.” She responded before emitting a solid grunt and thrusting her sword in the air, signalling the armada ships behind her to open and release their army. The trio returned to the head of their own army and stood with their soldiers.

“They surrender?” Bucky asked in a deadpan expression.

“Not exactly.” Stephanie told him.

“Is it too late to ask you to go back and stay with Carter?” Bucky asked.

Stephanie exhaled, “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

_“Yibambe!”_ Black Panther chanted to his army, who called it out back to him. When the enemy thrust down her sword, a swarm of multi-limbed monsters emerged from the ships and through the forest and threw themselves into the barrier.

“What the hell…” Bucky muttered. Everything he had seen since he was unfrozen just got crazier and crazier.

“They’re killing themselves.” Okoye said as they watched the monsters burn through the barrier with charred dismembered bodies falling through. Some, however, made it through alive and charged at them on all fours like animals. The Wakandan army held up their capes to activate their force shields. Those with guns, including Bucky, shot at the ones coming their way.

Sam and Rhodey were able to attack from above, but Stephanie noticed the line was expanding, and they were being surrounded.

“Cap, if these things circle the perimeter and get in behind us, there’s nothing between them and Vision.” Bruce warned her over the comm.

“Then we better keep them in front of us.” She said. She couldn’t let them get to the palace under any circumstances.

“How do we do that?” Okoye asked.

T’Challa grinded his teeth on his lips before he answered, “We open the barrier,” He pressed on the comm in his ear, “On my signal, open North-West Section 17.”

“This will be the end of Wakanda.” M’Baku said.

“Then it will be the noblest ending in history.” Okoye added.

Stephanie prepped herself by activating the shielding on her arms, which popped out like panther claws. T’Challa commanded his army to lower their own shields as well. He moved to the front of the assault and cried out,

“Wakanda Forever!”

They charged forward, running like hell towards the barrier. When the section opened up, the alien monsters poured in through the small entrance, right where they needed them. T’Challa and Stephanie ran side by side, outpacing everyone behind them. As they reached their enemies, they both leaped in the air and attacked on sight, swinging and hitting each one that came their way. Stephanie’s arm shields were sharpened at the tips, so she could stab them when they were down. They oozed blue blood on her as they died. Each growl of pain they emitted gave her a sense of relief. Each one she took down was another threat defeated.

But there was just _so many_ of them. Every man of theirs seemed like they had to fight off at least a hundred of them, and these things didn’t go down with one hit, either. She looked over at Bucky and watched a larger monster knock the machine gun out of his hand and tackle him.

“Bucky!” She cried out and ran to help him, but then she was tackled by three more monsters herself. She swung as hard as she could at their slobbering mouths, but they were viciously quick. They both stabbed the monsters at close-range, but they weren’t shaking off. She couldn’t fathom the idea that they would die here being eaten by mindless creatures. They couldn’t lose like this, not when there was a baby waiting for them in the palace.

Suddenly, a blast of rainbow light struck the ground around them, and Stephanie knew what that meant, and it gave her a boost of spirit. A spinning weapon charged with lightning soared through the battlefield, taking out the monsters that had them pinned down. She rolled back up and smiled as she saw Thor standing there, pissed off and ready to fight. Plus, he brought a couple friends for back up, though they didn’t look very Asgardian to her.

“Haha! You guys are so screwed now!” Bruce cheered, opening the helmet from his armor.

Stephanie saw that even the aliens in charge were taken aback. Thor spotted them and ran towards them.

“Bring me Thanos!” He commanded. Then, he leaped into the air and charged with powerful blue lightning that made his eyes glow. He threw down a mighty swing of his axe which sent off shockwaves that ripped through the circles of aliens in seconds.

Finally, the odds were more in their favor. Everyone stood up and continued to fight off the lesser number of monsters, having gotten a second wind from Thor’s entrance. She noticed that Bucky was even fighting alongside Thor’s friend who appeared to be an anthropomorphic raccoon. Bucky even lifted the critter and spun around so they could make a circle of gunfire together. She herself managed to get close enough to Thor to reunite with him properly.

“I like your haircut!” She shouted over the noise of battle. His once golden locks had been completely sheared off, and his roots were also a much darker shade of blonde. Looks like they had both through a lot since they last saw each other.

“Thank you!” Thor spoke loudly, smiling at her warmly, “You look great yourself!”

“Thanks, that means a lot…” Stephanie stopped to catch her breath, “...considering I gave birth last year.”

Thor’s face brightened with gleeful shock, “That’s wonderful! Congratulations!”

“Yup.” Stephanie took much joy in his excitement, “I have a little boy now.”

“A son?! You have a son! Haha!” He took a moment to rush to her and lift her in the air, spinning her around, “We shall celebrate after the battle is won!”

She really needed his optimism right now. “I can’t wait for you to meet him. His name is Carter.”

“Carter. Ah, a fine name for a strong boy.” Thor set her down and introduced his arborous friend who had impaled three monsters with his outstretched branch of an arm, “By the way, this is a friend of mine, Tree.”

“I am Groot!” The tree creature exclaimed in a high voice.

“I am Stephanie Barnes.” She introduced herself politely.


	17. The Lottery

Their reunion was quickly interrupted by rumbling beneath them, like an earthquake. Stephanie watched the forest as something underground pulled up the trees and crawled under the barrier in a giant wave. Then, giant alien tanks arose from the ground and revealed their giant cascades of wheels.

“Fall back! Fall back, now!” Black Panther ordered.

The wheels separated into different directions. Suddenly, Wanda arrived on the field and used her powers to levitate them and use them to crush the wild alien mutts. While she was a great help in the battle, her presence meant that Vision was unprotected. Soon enough, Falcon reported on the comm,

_“Guys, we got a vision situation, here”_

“Somebody get to Vision!” Stephanie shouted.

Bruce ran off in the Hulkbuster to find and guard him. Wanda started to say that she would go too, but then she sounded like she was hit, or at least distracted. A few minutes passed by and then Bruce reported,

_“Guys, Vision needs backup now!”_

So whatever was after Vision was tougher than the dogs. It was probably another one of the leaders. That would mean she was needed. Stephanie located Bruce’s signal and waved at Bucky to follow her. However, she ran so far ahead of him that he was having trouble catching up. She ran through the trees of the forest, and when she finally saw Vision in the distance, he was on his knees in a chokehold by the same slender alien man from the train station. He was alive after all, the woman was bluffing. Stephanie charged at him and knocked him down with a swinging tackle before he could take another blow at Vision.

Stephanie rolled back on her knees and screamed at Vision, “Get out of here!”

She got back up and swung at the tall slender alien with her arm shields as he jumped towards her with a growl. She knocked him down and saw that Vision was still there, so she yelled again, “Go!”

The alien swung at her with his staff, which she grabbed with both hands to hold him back. She punched. He swung. She knocked the staff out of his hands. He grabbed her by the throat and threw her into the dirt. She rolled and landed on her back, where he had walked over to grab her throat again, this time to squeeze it. She tightened her muscles to keep her airway open until the alien was pierced through the back by his own staff until it came out of his chest. This time he drew a strained breath as he died for good. Once the staff and his body were dropped to the ground, she could see Vision panting behind him before he collapsed.  
Stephanie jumped to help him to his feet, “I thought I told you to go.”

“We don’t trade lives, Captain.” Vision exhaled.

Stephanie could hear in his voice that it was too late to separate the gem from him. Her breath faltered as she realized he was preparing to sacrifice himself. Shortly after, Wanda flew onto the scene, rushing to him.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she put a loving hand on his cheek, but his gemstone trilled loudly as he grunted in pain, “What? What is it?”

“He’s here…” Vision said fearfully.

Then, Stephanie noticed the battlefield had gone quiet. The alien dogs were gone, and the warships had retreated. But it didn’t feel like victory.

“Everyone on my position. We have incoming.” Stephanie warned over the comm.

After the army had retreated, her team regrouped with her in the forest, and they were all on alert for what was coming. Bruce hadn’t told them what Thanos would look like, but she had a feeling she would know him when she saw him.

Then, a blue portal opened before them, and a single man walked out. He was immensely large, muscled, with purple skin and a textured jaw, but he didn’t look like what she expected for someone who wanted to destroy half the universe.

“Cap…” Bruce muttered, “That’s him.”

He didn’t have multiple limbs, or a webbing of eyes, or large scaly wings. He just looked like a man with determination in his gaze. But she wasn’t afraid. She’d seen that look before. She’d fought that look before.

She triggered the shield on her arm, “Eyes up. Stay sharp.”

The man slowly walked towards them, and as Bruce ran to charge him, he made him intangible with a squeeze of his armored fist. He controlled the armor to fly into the nearby cliffs, where it solidified and trapped him in the rocks. When Stephanie came his way, she too was levitated out of his way as he threw her back to the ground. He was only this powerful as long as he could use his golden gauntlet that had the other infinity stones embedded inside. She shook off the dirt and ran back towards him, watching him take down all her friends on the way. Then, she saw Bucky face him with his gun in hand, charging at him with a yell. A purple blast of energy radiated from Thanos’s fist and threw him hard on the ground. Her heart stopped as she feared for him, but she had to get to the gauntlet first.

  
Stephanie slid under his arm on her leg, and she saw Wanda and Vision at the edge of the forest. Wanda was sobbing as she was forced to use her powers to try to destroy Vision’s stone. Stephanie was in despair that it had to come to this, but she knew that she had to at least distract Thanos long enough for her to finish. Stephanie struck the purple Titan’s knees from the ground, but it only briefly paused him. She struck for an uppercut on his square jaw. When he opened his fist to use the gems on her, she quickly grabbed his fingers, each one as large and strong as a metal pipe. She used all her might to keep his hand from closing.

She thought about her friends. She thought about her home. She thought about Bucky. But most of all, she thought about Carter. She had to keep this world safe, for him. She tensed up and rode on the last of her strength as she could feel his fingers closing back into a fist. She hollered as she pushed even harder on his fingers, trying to bend them backwards. Thanos looked at her in dismay, and for a moment, she thought she had him. Then, his other fist swung at her and knocked her entire face with his knuckles. She hit the ground and fell unconscious.

She only came to when a large pulse of energy from the mind stone shook the ground around her. Her vision was blurry and her ears were ringing. She stumbled up to her feet and crawled back towards Bucky. Luckily, he was still alive as well, just knocked unconscious. While she was grateful, she found it strange that Thanos had the power to kill them and yet he only knocked them unconscious.

“C’mon...get up…” She groaned as she pulled Bucky up on his feet. Together, they stumbled towards Thor who had embedded his axe into Thanos’s chest. However, she could have sworn she saw the final gem in the back of his gauntlet, but before she could get a better look, he vanished into a portal, and Thor’s axe fell on the ground.

“Thor?” Stephanie asked as she slowly walked his way, “Where did he go?”

Stephanie looked around at the scene. She saw Thor’s face stricken with shock. Then, she saw Wanda sitting over Vision’s body in broken silence. His body had lost all color, and the gem had been ripped from his head. They had lost this battle, and the war with it.

“Oh God…” She whispered in horror. Carter. She had to see her son. She had to make sure he was okay.

“My baby…” she muttered with tears in her eyes as she grabbed Bucky’s hand and bolted. She just ran straight for the palace. She had to see him again. She had to see him before it was too…

Suddenly, she couldn’t feel Bucky’s hand anymore. She suddenly stopped and looked back. Did he let go? In the next fraction of a second, she saw it was her _own_ hand that was missing. Bucky was watching in horror as she disintegrated in front of him.

“Take care of our b-” was all she could say before she was completely gone. With a snap of his fingers, Thanos had succeeded in wiping half of all life in the universe. And in this particular universe, Stephanie had lost the coin toss. Bucky trembled as he knelt down and brushed his hands over the dust she left behind. But he also acknowledged what her final words were supposed to be.

_Take care of our boy._

He got back on his feet and ran like hell, past the other Avengers, past the Wakandan soldiers who were also trying to make sense of the horror around them. People screamed and cried out as their friends and loved ones turned to dust around them, but Bucky kept running. He made it back to the palace where the guards were not at their stations. He ran through the halls towards the chamber where he had left his son for safekeeping.

His tears streamed down his face as he heard Carter crying loudly. _Don’t stop crying. For the love of God, please don’t stop crying._ His boots skidded to a halt as he saw Carter on the floor, covered in the dust of his caretakers. The baby’s face reddened as he screamed in fear. Bucky slid on his knees to grab Carter and hold him tight.

“Ssshh...Daddy’s here now. Everything’s going to be okay.” Bucky cooed as he cried himself. He had to lie to him. He had to lie to himself, “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Bucky squeezed Carter tighter as he made a silent plea to the broken universe. He needed to feel Carter in his arms. He couldn’t bear to feel him disappear.

Carter did not stop crying.


End file.
